Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for Nov. 9-13 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
More than 40 trade groups urged the Federal Maritime Commission to suspend certain detention and demurrage charges they say are being unfairly imposed by ocean carriers and marine terminals, saying the charges violate guidelines issued by the FMC in May (see 2004290037). The groups said their members have paid more than $150 million in “unreasonable” fees at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the Port of New York and New Jersey due to “massive congestion created by record setting volumes” and a shortage of labor and available chassis.
The Federal Maritime Commission plans to discuss a rise in non-compliance with its May rule (see 2004290037) on detention and demurrage charges after industry complained that the rule is being ignored, Rebecca Dye, an FMC commissioner, said during a Nov. 10 session at the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade virtual conference. She said she will soon make “recommendations” to other commissioners to address the rule and other issues, including problems surrounding container returns.
The Nigerian Shippers Council ordered terminal operators to refund unauthorized transfer and storage charges on shippers and freight forwarders or “face serious sanctions,” the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Oct. 13. Shippers and freight forwarders complained to the NSC, the country’s port regulator, that they have been “arbitrarily charged levies” on container demurrage, storage and transfer by shipping firms and terminal operators for the “transport of goods to off‑dock terminals without their knowledge,” the report said. The NSC ordered port operators and other shipping agencies to “immediately” refund the charges collected since June 1 or face a “total shutdown.” Some terminals have not complied with the order, including Nigeria’s Denca Bonded Terminal, which allegedly owes more than $100,000 (in U.S. dollars) in refunds. The NSC plans to place staff at bonded terminals “to gather weekly reports on charges.” NSC issued guidance, according to the HKTDC report, indicating that “storage and demurrage fees on goods that need to be moved from seaport terminals to off‑dock terminals without the consignees’ consent should only be imposed after the goods’ arrival at the designated off‑dock terminals.”
The Federal Maritime Commission said its May rule on detention and demurrage charges (see 2004290037) is helping to reduce unfair penalties imposed by carriers, but industry said the fees are continuing and the FMC’s guidance is not being followed. The rule “at first seemed to be a great victory,” said Rich Roche, vice president of international transportation at Mohawk Global Logistics, speaking during a virtual conference hosted by the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America Sept. 14. But Roche, who is also the chair for the NCBFAA’s Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier Subcommittee, said some carriers increased their demurrage and detention fees the same week the rule was finalized.
Ghana recently waived detention and demurrage fees on all cargo at the country’s seaports while government-imposed restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic remain in place, according to an April 28 notice from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The measure applies to all charges on cargo that has been held at ports since March 30, the report said.
The Federal Maritime Commission will adopt a final rule to give industry guidance on how it assesses the “reasonableness” of detention and demurrage charges, the agency said on April 28. The rule has garnered new attention due to charges caused by COVID-19-related shipping delays (see 2003190041) and is meant to give industry clarity on how FMC will consider whether detention and demurrage policies incentivize the movement of cargo or whether they are unjustified. The rule will become effective upon its publication in the Federal Register.
The Federal Maritime Commission will adopt a final rule to give industry guidance on how it assesses the “reasonableness” of detention and demurrage charges, the agency said. The rule, which was proposed in September and has garnered new attention due to charges caused by COVID-19-related shipping delays, is expected to give industry clarity on how FMC will consider whether detention and demurrage policies incentivize the movement of cargo or whether they are unjustified. The rule will become effective upon its publication in the Federal Register.
The Federal Maritime Commission is using newly formed Supply Chain Innovation Teams to look into potential agency actions to reduce supply chain slowdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FMC said in an April 6 news release. Commissioner Rebecca Dye, who is overseeing the effort, and the teams will “begin work this week to identify what actions can provide immediate relief to the most pressing challenges the American freight delivery system faces from COVID-19 related disruptions,” it said. The information provided by team members about possible FMC actions “will dictate the scope and priorities of the Teams’ work,” it said. Dye said the teams “are committed to minimizing disruptions to the Nation’s cargo delivery system and will be prepared to offer practical solutions about what must be done to promote the competitive advantage of our supply chain networks,” The teams are an offshoot of the FMC's investigation into detention and demurrage fees that resulted in a proposed interpretive rule (see 2003170058).
Eighty agricultural trade groups are asking the Trump administration to push through a proposed Federal Maritime Commission rule that would provide guidance about how the FMC assesses the fairness of demurrage and detention practices. The rule would help mitigate the “ongoing unconscionable imposition of millions of dollars” of detention penalties being faced by agricultural exporters, whose shipments are being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the groups said in an April 3 letter. The groups -- which include dairy, meat, grain, vegetable and fruit trade associations -- urged White House Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue “to work with the FMC to expeditiously adopt the Interpretive Rule as published.”