Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-SD-At large) and John Garamendi (D-CA-03), House leaders of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) of 2022, urged the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to uphold congressional intent as implementation of the law continues.
The two representatives oppose the commission’s broad definition of “unreasonable” that is applied to vessel space accommodation, and they do not believe it will protect American shippers and exporters from foregin ocean carriers’ unfair business practices.
“The FMC’s current definition of ‘unreasonable’ refusal is so feckless it has us wondering: What was the point of passing OSRA in the first place? We all witnessed the havoc foreign-flagged ocean carriers wreaked on our ports in 2021, price gouging shippers and leaving American exporters high and dry.
If this definition stands, they could easily do it again,” the representatives said in a statement. OSRA was signed into law on June 16 and prohibits ocean carriers from discriminating against American exporters and unreasonably refusing cargo space accommodations.
