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FreightWaves reported on Tuesday 15 June that members of the US House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee are drafting a bipartisan legislation that would require ocean carriers to accept all US export container bookings. The legislation, to be proposed by John Garamendi and Dusty Johnson is in response to mounting complaints by US agricultural shippers that unscrupulous business practices by foreign container ship operators are causing them to lose money and market share overseas.

“We’ve got a problem in which the shipping industry is able to discriminate against American exporters,” Garamendi said during a hearing investigating the export container shortage. “It may be because ocean carriers can make more money sending those containers back empty to the Western Pacific rather than allowing them to be here long enough to be loaded with American exports. It’s a serious problem.” The draft proposal, according to Garamendi, would include several provisions to amend the U.S. Shipping Act, overseen by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), including provisions such as prohibiting ocean carriers from declining all cargo bookings for exports.

FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei confirmed to the Committee that the Shipping Act does not currently contain provisions to mandate reciprocal trade, but that he was open to working with Garamendi and Johnson on their proposal. He said that “it would be good to have more tools at the FMC.”

Earlier this month, Lorri Ann LaRocco reported that the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC) has submitted three legislative proposals to enforce the carriage of trade and excessive penalties US importers are being charged by foreign carriers. The proposals were sent to the FMC, as well as representatives on the Senate and House committees that have jurisdiction over ocean shipping. This would include an amendment to gain enforcement of FMC’s Detention and Demurrage Rule. This proposed amendment, which expands on the excessive fees being charged, would require the carriers or terminals to simply confirm, when imposing a detention or demurrage charge, that it complies with the FMC’s rule.

The FMC expanded its Fact Finding 29 investigation into the excessive charges being imposed on U.S. importers and the rejection of trade in November of last year. Recently, the Commission announced it is helping importers to collect back unreasonable demurrage and detention fees.