The Ocean Shipping Reform Act Should Be Passed Quickly
On August 10, U.S. Representatives John Garamendi (D-California) and Dusty Johnson (R-South Dakota) introduced the “Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021” (H.R. 4996) (OSRA 2021) to modernize federal shipping laws and address supply chain disruptions in the United States involving ocean shipping.
The bill would:
Increase the Federal Maritime Commission’s authority to oversee and regulate ocean carrier activities.
Expand the agency’s enforcement options and penalties against violations.
Increase transparency and accountability of the commission and ocean carriers.
Provide new opportunities for exporters to seek redress from ocean carriers for violations.
The legislation is the result of a strong push from a coalition of agricultural exporters and is supported by dozens of national organizations representing diverse industries. It represents a significant step in the right direction, but it still needs to be passed by Congress.
Rep. Johnson said, “Foreign ocean carriers aren’t playing fair, and American producers are paying the price. It’s time for updated rules of the road. That’s what our bill does.”
According to Rep. Garamendi, “Congress has not updated federal regulations for the global ocean shipping industry since China was granted permanent, normalized trade relations under the World Trade Organization in 2001. Now is the time to ensure reciprocal opportunities for American exporters in trade with other countries to reduce the United States’ trade imbalance with cheap Asian imports.”
Supplementing this legislation, the maritime commission has responded to calls from stakeholders for more proactive enforcement measures by launching an audit of ocean carriers’ billing practices. The commission has asked eight ocean carriers to justify port congestion surcharges as part of its investigation into unreasonable late fees (known in the industry as “detention and demurrage” charges).
Supply chain issues have become salient as consumers and businesses are feeling disruptions—empty store shelves, shortages in inputs available for production and finished consumer goods, and higher product prices. OSRA 2021 is supported by thousands of importers and exporters and opposed by foreign ocean carriers and a certain few marine terminal interests.
Access to foreign markets is critical to American businesses, particularly farmers and manufacturers. Access to foreign goods is critical to American consumers and businesses alike.
TAPP supports OSRA 2021 to address and alleviate supply chain disruptions and port congestion. We call on Congress to pass OSRA 2021 quickly.