Western Growers is backing the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021, introduced in the U.S. House on Aug. 10 by Reps. John Garamendi, D-Calif., and Dusty Johnson, R-S.D.
The bipartisan bill aims to support the competitiveness of U.S. businesses that are reliant on maritime shipping transport by cracking down on unreasonable practices by container shipping lines, bolster U.S. enforcement against bad actors, and improve transparency for exporters, according to a news release.
“Western Growers strongly supports the efforts of Reps. Garamendi and Johnson to ensure fair shipping practices and standards for our agricultural exports,” Western Growers president and CEO Dave Puglia said in a statement.
“At a time when our farmers are still pressing to regain lost overseas markets after years of trade upheaval, the ongoing West Coast port crisis and skyrocketing shipping costs are diminishing their opportunity to do so,” Puglia said.
“The Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021 provides much needed oversight and transparency into maritime shipping practices, which have increasingly become too unpredictable or costly for our exporters to remain globally competitive. As this legislation moves forward, we continue to encourage other federal and state officials to remain engaged on this crisis and explore other immediate relief measures for the supply chain.”
According to the release, the bill will:
- State that carriers (e.g. container shipping lines) may not unreasonably decline export cargo if it can be loaded safely, can arrive in a timely manner to be loaded, and is destined for a location to which the carrier is already scheduled;
- Require carriers to provide notice of cargo availability, container return locations, and adequate notice of dates when the export container must arrive at the terminal;
- Require carriers to provide the shipper with specific information to justify any imposed demurrage-detention charges, provide a reasonable dispute resolution process, and certify compliance with existing federal regulation; and
- Require carriers, under defined conditions, to accept export cargo bookings.
Since the fall of 2020, Western Growers said U.S. agricultural exporters have faced extreme challenges getting their products onto ships and out to foreign buyers, including record-breaking congestion and delays at ports, shipping lines’ persistent failure to provide accurate notice of arrival/departure and cargo loading times, excessive financial penalties and other fees, and skyrocketing freight rate costs.
There is no clear end to the congestion, but Western Growers said that based on current projections, the industry may not see a return to normal until early 2022.
