“Obstacles and Opportunities to Move Trade Forward”
Guest Speakers:
Donald Tang
Executive Chairman – SHEIN
Donald Tang is the Executive Chairman of SHEIN, with oversight of public affairs, business strategy, corporate development, and finance.
Donald began his career at Merrill Lynch & Co. He later joined Bear Stearns & Co. Inc. in Los Angeles as Senior Managing Director of Investment Banking. At Bear Sterns, Donald quickly rose to become the Vice Chairman of the firm, as well as Chairman and President of Bear Stearns International Holdings, Chairman and CEO of Bear Stearns Asia, Ltd, and a member of the board of directors at Bear Stearns & Co.
Donald has served as a trustee of the Rand Corporation, the California Institute of Technology, and the Asia Society and as a board member of the UCLA Medical Center, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, LACMA and MOCA.
Lenny Feldman
Managing Partner – Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.
LENNY FELDMAN is a Managing Partner, Operating Committee with Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., resident in the Miami office. He previously co-chaired the twenty-member Customs and Border Protection’s Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee, providing strategic recommendations directly to CBP, Homeland Security and Treasury executives on issues such as forced labor, intellectual property rights, e-commerce policy, trade partnership programs, enforcement and facilitation mechanisms, and regulatory reform. He currently serves as General Counsel and Customs Counsel to the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA).
Mr. Feldman innovatively and resourcefully resolves complex issues pertaining to import classification compliance and tariff engineering; valuation requirements and first sale duty savings; seizure and penalty prior disclosures and mitigation petitions; antidumping and countervailing duty administration and enforcement; trade preference qualification for NAFTA/USMCA, CAFTA-DR, and other programs; intellectual property pre-compliance and forfeiture defense; importer/broker compliance reviews and cost savings analysis; export control reviews and enforcement strategies; and CTPAT/border security certification, validation, and suspension/revocation support.
Morning Workshops and Trade Fair
“U.S. Customs-Pathway for Legitimate Trade in Light of Increased Focus on Enforcement”
AGENDA
8:30 AM Registration (Catalina Room)
9:00 AM Welcome and Introduction To CBP Panel:
9:05 AM Pathway for Legitimate Trade in Light of Increased Focus on Enforcement
Trade enforcement for non-eCommerce shipments
- Priority Trade Focus
- CBP Trade Enforcement Operational Approach-Trade collaboration EAPA enforcement
- Center Enforcement Perspective: (Textiles/CEE)
- Update on Forced Labor ULFPA and Electronics
- DHS new Textile Enforcement
CBP Guest Speakers: Moderator Mari Bermejo, A.N. Deringer, LACBFFA VP
- Elva Muneton, Trade Field Office, Assistant Director, Trade
- Africa Bell CBP Port Director, LA/LB Seaport
- Andrew Douglas, CBP Port Director, LAX
- Oscar Acuna, CBP Assistant Port Director, LAX
- James Snider CBP Assistant Director Apparel, Footwear and Textile
- Alan Aprea, CBP Electronics Center Director
10:00 AM Break / Trade Fair (Palm Terrace Patio)
10:15 AM Port Updates (Green Room)
Port of Los Angeles Session: Strides in Mitigating Cyber Threats at the Port of L.A. Port of Los Angeles, CRC,
The CRC is the first-of-its-kind system, designed to protect North America’s largest seaport from cyber threats, by enabling stakeholders to quickly share threat indicators and defensive measures with each other and additionally serves as an information resource that stakeholders can rely upon to help restore operations following an attack.
Moderator: Matt Schrap, CEO Harbor Trucking Association
Tony Zhong, Chief Information Security Officer, Port of Los Angeles
Doreen P. Yonemura, Cyber Resilience Center Manager, Port of Los Angeles
11:00 AM Trade Fair (Palm Terrace Patio)
12:15 PM Lunch (Green Room)
1:00 PM Keynote Speaker: Donald Tang/SHEIN (Monarch Room) Moderator Lenny Feldman ST&R.
2:00 PM Marjorie M. Shostak Distinguished Service Award presentation
Guest Speakers
Alan Aprea
Director, Electronics Center of Excellence and Expertise (ECEE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
Since December 2021, Alan Aprea has been serving in the role of Center Director for the ECEE. The ECEE is comprised of nearly 200 employees that cover the importation compliance for the information technology and consumer electronics industry. For fiscal year 2022, the ECEE was assigned over 45,000 importer accounts that filed over 3.5 million entries valued at over $510 billion dollars. Mr. Aprea presided over the ECEE during the Centers reintegration period returning staff to the office after over two years of working offsite due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Aprea also implemented the ECEE’s expansion that included adding a fourth Division, which adjusted for the ECEE’s operational needs.
Prior to Mr. Aprea’s Center Director appointment, he served as the ECEE Assistant Center Director located at JFK International Airport in New York overseeing the Partnership Division, which was preceded by serving as the ECEE Branch Chief overseeing the Enforcement Division located at the L.A./Long Beach Seaport.
Alan Aprea has been with CBP for over 20 years, beginning as a CBP Officer at the L.A./ Long Beach Seaport. In 2006, he became an Import Specialist serving on five different commodity teams. In 2011, Mr. Aprea was selected to participate in the Center of Excellence and Expertise pilot program that comprised a national multidisciplinary team covering the information technology and consumer electronics industry.
Ms. Elva Muñeton
Assistant Director for Trade Los Angeles Field Office
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Department of Homeland Security
Ms. Elva Muneton serves as the Assistant Director of Trade for Customs and Border Protection at the Field Office in Los Angeles, California. Her responsibilities include oversight of international trade operations for the Los Angeles ports of entry, including the LA/Long Beach Seaport and the Los Angeles International Airport. The Los Angeles Field Office is the largest in terms of international trade, processing over 4.5 million maritime containers and 86 million air cargo/parcel shipments per year. Ms. Muneton also has oversight of the Electronics Center of Excellence & Expertise that is aligned to the LA Field Office.
In 2022, Ms. Muneton served as the Acting Executive Director for Office of Trade leading the Uyghur Force Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) implementation task force for CBP. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) was signed into law by President Biden on December 23, 2021 and it expands upon CBP’s enforcement of Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930. Ms. Muneton led a multi-disciplinary task force that developed Operational guidance for CBP personnel, provided Importer Guidance to the trade community and conducted a robust outreach campaign in order to prepare the trade community for CBPs implementation on June 21, 2022. Mrs. Muneton received the DHS countering Human Trafficking Award for her leadership on the implementation of the UFLPA.
Ms. Muneton also served as the Assistant Port Director for Trade at the LA/Long Beach Seaport, largest seaport operation in the nation as well as the Assistant Port Director for Trade at LAX. In her role, Ms. Muneton had direct oversight over the entire trade cargo division. Ms. Muneton has a B.S. in Political Science from Loyola Marymount University. Ms. Muneton is a subject matter expert in Intellectual Property Rights enforcement and represented CBP at the International Law Enforcement Academy in 2008 in Lima, Peru.
Africa R. Bell
Port Director, Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport
Los Angeles Field Office
Ms. Bell currently serves as the Port Director at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport. In this capacity she leads more than 650 CBP employees in all facets of CBP operations at the Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Port Hueneme seaports. Ms. Bell has oversight of CBP’s enforcement and trade compliance operations related to the processing of nearly 35% of the nation’s containerized sea cargo and the annual processing of over 2 million cruise ship passengers. She has oversight of the Los Angeles Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures (FP&F) division, encompassing the storage and adjudication of more than $244 million in seized property. Additionally, Ms. Bell directs CBP maritime smuggling interdiction efforts along hundreds of miles of coastline in Orange, Los Angeles, and Ventura counties.
Prior to this assignment, Ms. Bell served as the Director for the Base Metals Center where she managed and directed the enforcement of trade laws and regulations governing the importation process for the base metals industry. During her tenure as Center Director, Ms. Bell completed several temporary duty assignments, to include Acting Assistant Director Field Operations, Trade for the Chicago and San Juan Field Offices, Acting Area Port Director, Chicago, and Acting Director for the Enforcement Operations Division in CBP’s Office of Trade.
Prior to assuming the role of Center Director, Ms. Bell served as Senior Advisor and Acting Deputy Chief of Staff to the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Throughout her career, Ms. Bell has supported several trade programs and initiatives to include the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) and the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) technical assistance programs.
Andrew Douglas
Port Director, Los Angeles International Airport
Mr. Douglas, who began his Federal career as an Immigration Inspector at U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, in Nogales, Arizona, has broad leadership experience at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Most recently, he served as Assistant Director for Field Operations, Border Security, in the Detroit Field Office, where he provided operational oversight of seven major Ports of Entry; Acting Director of the National Vetting Center, where he led efforts to streamline intelligence to inform operational decisions; Acting Area Port Director for the El Paso Port of Entry, where he oversaw operations and enforcement activities of eight CBP facilities in the City of El Paso, Texas; and Acting Area Port Director for the Laredo Port of Entry, where he oversaw all enforcement operations at the busiest inland commercial crossing in United States.
Mr. Douglas was previously appointed as Area Port Director, Port Huron, Michigan, with responsibility for overseeing the Blue Water Bridge border crossing, the fourth busiest commercial land border crossing by volume; and leading intelligence and targeting operations in collaboration with partner agencies, which resulted in a 25 percent increase in narcotics seizures and an 11 percent increase in criminal arrests.
In January of 2024, Mr. Douglas was appointed as the Area Port Director, at LAX overseeing CBP operations at LAX, John Wayne and Ontario International Airports, Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, four user fee airports, the first in the nation dedicated air Centralized Examination Station, five Express Courier Consignment Facilities, and an International Mail Facility.
Mr. Douglas has an Associate of Science Degree in General Studies from Brigham Young University in Rexburg, Idaho; and is a graduate of the CBP Leadership Institute.
Oscar Acuña
Assistant Area Port Director, Los Angeles International Airport, OFO, CBP
Oscar Acuña is serving as the Assistant Port Director, Tactical, Trade, and Operations, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) since August 2020. In this role, Mr. Acuña oversees approximately 350 employees at the third largest international airport in the United States. He oversees Trade operations and Enforcement teams, Training, five (5) Express Courier Consignment Facilities (ECCF), four (4) User Fee Airports (UFA), and Air Centralized Examination Station (CES) Facility and the International Mail Facility (IMF). Additionally, Mr. Acuña oversees Landing Rights, Scheduling, Emergency Preparedness and Budgeting for the Area port of Los Angeles.
Mr. Acuña previously served as the Acting Area Port Director of Sweetgrass, Montana, where he was responsible for approximately 249 employees spanning across 592 miles along the Montana and Idaho Canadian border. The area port supports the frontline personnel at 21 ports of entry, with 14 land border crossings (4 of the land borders are 24-hour commercial crossings.), 4 general air facilities, and 3 seasonal ports.
From December 2015 to August 2020, Mr. Acuña served as the Border Security Coordinator for the Seattle Field Office. He was directly responsible for the oversight and the tactical application of the following programs throughout the states of Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and Northwest Minnesota: Tactical Analysis Unit (TAU), Anti-Terrorism Tactical Response Teams (TTRT), Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), Special Response Team (SRT), Electronic Media, Admissibility and Incident Review, Special Operations, Canine Program, Use of Force Policy, Emergency Preparedness, Naloxone, Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Resiliency, Honor Guard, and Integrity Program.
Mr. Acuña began his Federal career in 1993 with the U.S. Army as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. He served for over seven years in the U.S. Cavalry achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant. Mr. Acuña became U.S. Customs Inspector at the Calexico Port of Entry in January 2001.
James Snider
Asst. Center Director, Enforcement
Apparel, Footwear and Textile Center, CBP
James Snider currently serves as the Asst. Center Director, Enforcement Division, for the Apparel, Footwear & Textile (AFT) Center with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). In this role, he has oversight of various enforcement activities within the Center to include, but not limited to, Forced Labor, Trade Special Operations, Free Trade Agreements and Intellectual Property Rights.
Mr. Snider is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles, and started his career with CBP (formerly U.S. Customs) in 1992. Prior to his assignment as an Asst. Center Director in 2016, Mr. Snider served a decade as a Supervisor Trade Program Manager with the San Diego Field Office. He began his career at the port of Long Beach and relocated to San Diego in 2001 to become a Supervisory Import Specialist. Mr. Snider remains in San Diego and works via a virtual environment for the AFT Center.
Matt Schrap
CEO Harbor Trucking Association.
Since taking the role in June of 2021, Matt has been featured on several national US news programs including 60 Minutes, ABC Nightly News, Fox News, CNBC, PBS News Hour, Bloomberg TV, National Public Radio, RoadDog Trucking Radio on SiriusXM and a host of others where he has discussed drayage industry issues, regulatory policy as well as efficiency constraints impacting container movement on the US West Coast.
Prior to joining HTA, Matt was VP of Government Programs for the Velocity Vehicle Group (VVG), where he worked on air quality regulatory policy as well as finance and incentive programs for Heavy Duty trucks operating across the Southwestern US.
Before his time at VVG, Matt was the Director of Environmental Affairs and Intermodal Conferences for the California Trucking Association (CTA). He took the role at CTA after completing the Center for California Studies, Senate Fellows Program in 2005.
Matt is also a lecturer and instructor for the College of Professional and Continuing Education Global Logistics Professional Designation at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). He holds an MA in Public Policy Administration from CSULB and a BA in Government from California State University, Sacramento.
Tony Zhong
Chief Information Security Officer
Tony Zhong is the Chief Information Security Officer at the Port of Los Angeles. In this role, he manages the Port’s cybersecurity program, Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC), and Cyber Resilience Center (CRC).
Throughout his career, he has been involved in protecting critical infrastructures, supply chains, digital assets, and services. Additionally, he collaborates with various private and public organizations on cyber initiatives. Tony currently chairs the CRC executive and technical committees, co-chairs the chainPORT Cybersecurity Resilience Working Group with international ports since April 2022, and chaired the Cybersecurity Committee for the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) from 2019 to 2021. Tony is a subject matter expert in various cybersecurity disciplines along with possessing many industry cybersecurity certifications.
Doreen P. Yonemura
Cyber Resilience Center Manager
Doreen Yonemura serves as the Cyber Resilience Center (CRC) Manager at the Port of Los Angeles. The CRC is the first-of-its-kind system, designed to protect North America’s largest seaport from cyber threats, by enabling stakeholders to quickly share threat indicators and defensive measures with each other and additionally serves as an information resource that stakeholders can rely upon to help restore operations following an attack.
In this role, she joins forces with IBM to manage and operate the CRC, manages ISO 27001 and NIST cybersecurity frameworks, engages with stakeholders and external agencies to onboard, conduct tabletop exercises, and provide cybersecurity training.
Prior to joining the Port of Los Angeles, Doreen served at multiple City of Los Angeles departments including the Los Angeles World Airports, Information Technology Agency, and Bureau of Sanitation. Doreen has 25+ years of hands-on experience in the areas of Security Architecture and Engineering, Communication and Network Security, Identity and Access Management, and Security Operations along with multiple industry standard cybersecurity certifications.
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