TGA Urges Congress to Approve Ocean Shipping Reform Act

On April 20, TGA joined dozens of other industry groups in urging Congress to include the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) in any final anti-China legislation. The legislation was included in the House-passed AmericaCOMPETES Act but was not included in the Senate-passed U.S. Innovation & Competitiveness Act. House and Senate conferees will begin negotiations next week in the hopes of reaching agreement on compromise legislation by summer. OSRA would require the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to establish/enforce rules that would help end the current shipping crisis, and prevent the next shipping crisis, by mandating minimum service requirements for carriers, as well as establishing and enforcing rules barring contract breaches and excessive and unjust detention and demurrage fees.