17 September 2021
DEBATES ON THE REFORM OF US SHIPPING ACT TO START SOON
On 13 September, Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) announced that the U.S Congress would not begin work on the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021 (OSRA 2021) until after November, and once the House has addressed other major legislative files such as the infrastructure package, voting rights reform, and legislation to bolster Roe v. Wade. Introduced in August by two members of Congress, John Garamendi (D-CA) and Dusty Johnson (R-SD), the bipartisan bill would impose minimum requirements on ocean carrier service contracts and shifts the burden of proof in regulatory proceedings from shippers to the container lines.
17 September 2021
FMC ANNOUNCES NEW GUIDANCE ON DEMURRAGE AND DETENTION FEES
On 15 September, the U.S Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) announced in a statement that it has voted to launch two demurrage-and-detention related initiatives in order to clarify conflicts related to delayed goods at US ports. These actions follow the signing of an executive order by US President Joe Biden ordering the FMC to take action against unreasonable fees charged by shipping companies for delays and bottlenecks at ports.
17 September 2021
EC DISMISSES UNFAIR PRACTICES IN LINER SHIPPING
On 13 September, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Margrethe Vestager answered to the parliamentary question from MEPs Tom Berendsen (NL, PPE), Annie Schreijer-Pierik (NL, PPE), and Henna Virkkunen (FI, PPE) on unfair practices in the container shipping industry that disrupt entire supply chains. In its response, the Commission recognises that the COVID-19 pandemic had unprecedented effects on both the demand and supply sides and caused wide fluctuations in demand.
17 September 2021
EUROPEAN COMMISSION COMES UNDER RENEWED PRESSURE TO MAKE LINER INTERVENTION
The Loadstar and Splash reported earlier this week on another letter sent to the European Commission (EC), signed by ten shipper and forwarder organisations, outlining their concerns over the liner shipping market, raising the new complaint that carriers are abusing their dominant position to obtain commercially sensitive data.
17 September 2021
CEF CALL FOR SAFE AND SECURE PARKING AREAS PUBLISHED
On 16 September, the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) published a funding call of €100 million as part of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for the development and upgrading of Safe and Secure Truck Parking Areas (SSTPAs).
17 September 2021
JOINT INDUSTRY STATEMENT ON SAFE AND SECURE PARKING AREAS
CLECAT, jointly with DSLV and associations representing insurance companies, secure parking operators and road transport operators, underlined the urgent need to move forward with the construction of new Safe and Secure Truck Parking Areas (SSTPAs) in the EU and a harmonised EU SSTPA Standard, with clear and unambiguous rules on security, safety and comfort levels for these SSTPAs. With this in mind, the signatories strongly supported the announcement for future funding for SSTPAs through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF II).
10 September 2021
CLECAT Newsletter 2021/34
10 September 2021
EU KEEPS LEADERSHIP IN AGRI-FOOD TRADE
On 8 September, the European Commission published the 2020 annual report on EU agri-food trade, which finds that the EU reinforced its leading position among the world’s biggest exporters. On the import side, the EU has become the third largest importer after the US and China.
10 September 2021
NEW EU EXPORT CONTROL REGIME ENTERS INTO FORCE
On 9 September, the new EU Export Control Regulation - Regulation (EU) No 2021/821 - entered into force, modernising the EU system for the control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use items.
10 September 2021
UK EXTENDS GRACE PERIODS FOR TRADE INTO NI
On 6 September, the UK Government announced that the grace periods covering post-Brexit trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will be extended again from October 1 "to provide space for potential further discussions" on the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.