Johnson: American Businesses Need the Ocean Shipping Reform Act
“The Ocean Shipping Reform Act establishes rules of the road and puts Americans on an equal playing field”
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representatives Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Jim Costa (D-CA-16), and David Valadao (R-CA-21) hosted a roundtable discussion with American manufacturing and agriculture experts on solutions to strengthen the supply chain. You can watch the roundtable here.
In December, Johnson’s Ocean Shipping Reform Act, legislation to overhaul the global shipping industry and safeguard American exporters from unfair trade practices, passed the U.S. House by 364-60.
“Experts in American manufacturing and agriculture made it clear at today’s roundtable: America’s economy and businesses need the Ocean Shipping Reform Act signed into law,” said Johnson. “There are solutions to some of the problems we’re seeing with our supply chain and foreign flagged ocean shippers – the Ocean Shipping Reform Act establishes rules of the road and puts Americans on an equal playing field.”
“It is more urgent than ever that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle put partisan differences aside to address supply chain issues. It affects us all,” said Costa. The American people are sadly seeing essential everyday goods drastically increase in price because of foreign shipping companies taking advantage of their control on the ocean shipping market. The House has already passed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act which ensures American exporters are treated fairly when moving their goods out of the country in our ports. I urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to build on this momentum to continue to confront the supply chain crisis. Taking quick action is a major step in bringing down prices for the American consumer.”
“I represent farmers that feed the world, and our agriculture economy has been hit hard by the ongoing supply chain crisis,” said Valadao. “We need solutions like the Ocean Shipping Reform Act to ease the bottlenecks that have resulted in lost revenue for our farmers and increased food prices across the country. I was glad to join the Problem Solvers Caucus today to discuss bipartisan ways to strengthen supply chain security.”
“The Agriculture Transportation Coalition, known as ‘The principal voice of U.S. agriculture exporters in U.S. transportation policy’, applauds the bipartisan leadership of Members of the Problem Solvers Caucus, who are driving long overdue changes in our ocean transportation laws and policies, essential to keep US agriculture competitive in the global markets. The recent AgTC Ag Exporter-Carrier Service Impact Survey, reveals that in 2021, U.S. ag exporters lost 21% of confirmed foreign sales, often due to unreasonable ocean carrier practices. By drafting and championing Congressmen Johnson and Garamendi’s Ocean Shipping Reform Act, and gaining expedited passage by overwhelming margins in the House of Representatives, members of the Problem Solvers Caucus are addressing these challenges, advancing solutions that will benefit the entire US economy, and specifically our nation’s largest export – agriculture.” – The Agriculture Transportation Coalition
“Congressman Johnson has been working tirelessly to untangle the knots in our nation’s export supply chain. When we can't get our products to market, it hurts farmers, workers, and agricultural businesses in South Dakota and across the nation. You've got to respect his unrivaled leadership, his passionate advocacy and his serious problem-solving skills, and we cannot thank him enough for his efforts.” – The National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council
“The cartel of foreign-owned shipping companies have reaped hundred-billion dollar profits from American truckers and consumers with unfair, punitive business practices in our nation’s ports and inland facilities,” said Jon Eisen, director of ATA’s Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference. “The Ocean Shipping Reform Act is a badly-needed step to modernize the law governing ocean freight and help restore a fair marketplace for motor carriers servicing our ports.”
“NRF strongly supports the Ocean Shipping Reform Act and thanks Representative Johnson and the Problem Solvers Caucus for their leadership to address long-standing service problems and unfair business practices in the maritime shipping industry. Many of these issues existed well before COVID-19, and have been further exacerbated by the pandemic. As the demand for goods and materials is expected to continue to outpace the availability of supply, we encourage the Senate to pass this legislation that will help mitigate ongoing supply chain disruptions.” – NRF Vice President of Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold
“The NAM was proud to join the Problem Solvers Caucus for today’s dialogue about a vitally important issue and to seek solutions for the challenges impacting our national shipping supply chain. Manufacturers experience the impacts of shipping delays and container backlogs on a daily basis. In fact, in a survey of manufacturers released just today, 88% of respondents listed ‘supply chain challenges' as the number one issue affecting their business outlook. The Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) will remedy many of the challenges present in our domestic shipping network and specifically address the extraneous demurrage and detention fees that have skyrocketed during the pandemic. We look forward to continuing our support of OSRA and its final passage and working with the Problem Solvers Caucus as they pursue sensible policy solutions to the challenges facing our national supply chain.” – The National Association of Manufacturers
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