The House passed its bill in December
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
More than 100 ag industry groups are asking the U.S. Senate to pass a piece of marine legislation swiftly.
The groups, which include the American Farm Bureau, Corn Refiners Association and the National Oilseed Processors Association, wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell asking senators to approve the Ocean Shipping Reform Act or similar legislation.
Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) are said to be drafting the Senate’s version of the bill.
The House bill came about after ag organizations raised concerns with marine carrier companies sending empty containers back to Asia empty.
The bill grants the Federal Marine Commission the authority to establishes rules prohibiting ocean carriers from adopting and applying unfair demurrage fees. The bill also establishes minimum service standards.
The House of Representatives passed its version of the bill in December with a bipartisan vote of 364 to 60.
The bill needs to pass in the Senate. Then the House and Senate need to jointly agree on a final version of the bill to receive President Biden’s signature and become law.
Failure to pass this bill means American agriculture risks losing market access.
“The transportation crisis for U.S. agriculture products has become increasingly dire,” the Jan. 27 letter says. “Many agriculture products produced in the U.S. experience significant competition from other countries. If we cannot deliver our products dependably, our foreign customers will find alternatives to our exports.”
For its part, the Biden-Harris Administration is trying to address supply chain issues.
On Jan. 31, Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced the USDA and the Port of Oakland are working together on a 25-acre site to help ag exporters fill empty shipping containers.
“This partnership with the Port of Oakland builds on our aggressive approach to addressing challenges within the supply chain and sends a strong signal that we are committed to working across the Administration and with state, local and private partners to mitigate complex port capacity and congestion issues and to keep American agriculture on the move,” Vilsack said in a statement