If anyone in the press has any teeth left after Afghanistan, they surely finished grinding them to dust once their predictions for a Christmas catastrophe failed to pan out. The naked anticipation of the “liberal” press for empty shelves was pretty gross to watch. It was going to be the worst Christmas ever and it was going to be all Biden’s fault. Then Biden used the muscle of the federal government and, poof, no empty shelves! The President ordered the two main ports in California to run 24/7 and slapped a $100/day fine on cargo containers that companies left sitting on the docks. Like magic, companies found a way to get those containers moving and product on the shelf. A Christmas miracle! And one that the press quietly discussed after weeks of loud and breathless “Doom is upon us!” headlines. Biden saved Christmas and barely received any credit at all.
I am so sick of this lie. Biden didn't order the increase in activity or the fines that happened in the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. The ports ramped up and created the fee threat through their own internal processes. Biden's press can't even get the timeline on the events straight.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach announced Monday that implementation of a Container Dwell Fee on companies whose containers linger at marine terminals will be delayed again, with it now potentially taking effect if necessary next Monday.
The fee, which was announced Oct. 25, has been delayed numerous times due to progress in reducing the number of port containers at the terminals — with the ports reporting Monday a 41% combined decline in aging cargo on the docks since the fee was announced.
https://www.foxla.com/news/ports-delay-fines-for-idling-containers-againWhen cargo sit on docks for extended periods, bottlenecks worsen, goods can’t make it to stores, and prices can rise for consumers. That’s why the Administration worked with the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in early November to impose a fee on ocean carriers if their cargo sits on docks for over eight days.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/22/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-efforts-to-tackle-prices-for-americans/And the ramp up to 24/7 operations started mid-September. I'm sure there was coordination between the ports and the federal government, but Biden trying to take the credit for this is as big a lie as his attempts to take credit for the COVID vaccination distribution plans that were put in place by Trump. Biden is so desperate to look like he's had a successful first year that he's willing to latch onto any good news and claim it as his own. And, I guess someone should have told him to include this information in his 12/22/21 "Fact Sheet" about container dwell fees:
The Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles will delay consideration of the “container dwell fee” for another week, this time until Jan. 28.
Since the program was announced on Oct. 25, the two ports have seen a combined decline of 62% in aging cargo on the docks.
The executive directors of both ports will reassess fee implementation after monitoring data over the next week. Fee implementation has been postponed by both ports since the start of the program.
https://polb.com/port-info/news-and-press/container-dwell-fee-on-hold-through-jan-28-01-21-2022/So, the container dwell fee, which the White House bragged on in a press release to show how effectively they were dealing with container backlogs has not, to date, ever actually been implemented. They not only are trying to take credit for programs that someone else developed, they're claiming the success of those programs, which haven't actually been put into place.
