PROPOSED changes to the law in the US aimed at strengthening enforcement of container lines' common carriage responsibilities to serve exports will leave it to maritime regulators to determine when it's unreasonable for carriers to not accept bookings, reports IHS Media.
If passed, the updated Shipping Act of 1984 will be changed for the first time since 1998.
'If you are going to be a common carrier, if you are going to US ports to be part of the stream of commerce, you need to be willing to accept some very basic rules of the road, including not unduly discriminating against agricultural US exports,' said US representative Dusty Johnson.
Amid a surge of Asia imports that began in spring 2020, ocean carriers have prioritised higher-paying import cargoes to free up capacity for import cargoes, causing exporters to struggle to get their shipments booked.
The World Shipping Council (WSC) declared the bill's framework incorrectly blames container lines for congestion and ignores that carriers and other transportation providers are working together to address issues presented by the record volumes.
'For US consumers and businesses, today's bill runs a serious risk of making transportation contracts less flexible, slowing cargo velocity, and making all imported and exported goods more expensive. This is because risks cannot be efficiently apportioned by parties if there are too many restraints on freedom of contract, and lack of efficiency translates into additional costs,' said the WSC.
Agricultural exporters praised the bill, with 15 agricultural associations urging US Congress to enact the legislation to make exports more globally competitive.
Said Agricultural Transportation Coalition (AgTC): 'There is nothing we produce in agriculture and forest products in this country that cannot be sourced in some other country. If we cannot deliver, affordably and dependably, our foreign customers will find - and are already finding - alternatives to US exports,'
The National Retail Federation, the American Trucking Associations, and the National Industrial Transportation League were among the 50 trade associations that have endorsed the bill.
SeaNews Turkey
If passed, the updated Shipping Act of 1984 will be changed for the first time since 1998.
'If you are going to be a common carrier, if you are going to US ports to be part of the stream of commerce, you need to be willing to accept some very basic rules of the road, including not unduly discriminating against agricultural US exports,' said US representative Dusty Johnson.
Amid a surge of Asia imports that began in spring 2020, ocean carriers have prioritised higher-paying import cargoes to free up capacity for import cargoes, causing exporters to struggle to get their shipments booked.
The World Shipping Council (WSC) declared the bill's framework incorrectly blames container lines for congestion and ignores that carriers and other transportation providers are working together to address issues presented by the record volumes.
'For US consumers and businesses, today's bill runs a serious risk of making transportation contracts less flexible, slowing cargo velocity, and making all imported and exported goods more expensive. This is because risks cannot be efficiently apportioned by parties if there are too many restraints on freedom of contract, and lack of efficiency translates into additional costs,' said the WSC.
Agricultural exporters praised the bill, with 15 agricultural associations urging US Congress to enact the legislation to make exports more globally competitive.
Said Agricultural Transportation Coalition (AgTC): 'There is nothing we produce in agriculture and forest products in this country that cannot be sourced in some other country. If we cannot deliver, affordably and dependably, our foreign customers will find - and are already finding - alternatives to US exports,'
The National Retail Federation, the American Trucking Associations, and the National Industrial Transportation League were among the 50 trade associations that have endorsed the bill.
SeaNews Turkey