Biden Urges House Passage of Ocean Shipping Reform Act
President Joe Biden, speaking at the Port of Los Angeles, praised the collaborative work of port officials and workers and the government to break through logjams, and partly blamed foreign-owned shipping companies for rising prices.
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Biden said there are nine major shipping companies on the Pacific route, and he said the companies "have raised their prices by 1000%." He said they've had $190 billion in profit, a seven-fold increase in one year.
"That's why I called on Congress to crack down," he said, and said he hoped the House would soon pass the Ocean Shipping Reform Act. That law would not regulate the prices shippers charge, but would codify oversight of detention and demurrage charges, and would press carriers to accept exports.
The bill passed the Senate in March (see 2204010007), and the House has the measure on its calendar for a vote next week.
The act instructs the Federal Maritime Commission to issue a final rule "further defining prohibited practices by common carriers, marine terminal operators, shippers, and ocean transportation intermediaries ... regarding the assessment of demurrage or detention charges."
FMC also is instructed to issue a rulemaking within six months "defining unreasonable refusal to deal or negotiate with respect to vessel space," language that is aimed to reduce the number of declined export shipments.