Ocean Shipping Reform Act 2021 passed by US House of Representatives
The US National Retailers Federation (NRF) welcomed the passage of the bill by the House of Representatives.
NRF Senior Vice President of Government Relations David French commented: his bipartisan legislation provides much-needed updates and reform to an archaic system that retailers and thousands of other businesses depend on each day to transport goods.
“China and the foreign flagged ocean carriers aren’t playing fair, and accountability is long overdue. If you want to do business with American ports, you need to play by our basic rules. I am proud of the coalition Congressman Garamendi and I have worked to build over the last year. The Ocean Shipping Reform Act puts American consumers, farmers, ranchers, retailers, truckers, manufacturers, and small businesses first. Our bill passed the House with strong bi-partisan support and I look forward to seeing it pass the Senate.”
The World Shipping Council President John Butler commented : “The House today passed HR 4996 without proper debate or committee process. The bill is a political statement of frustration with supply chain challenges – frustrations that ocean carriers share.
“The problem is that the bill is not designed to fix the end-to-end supply chain congestion that the world is experiencing, and it will not and cannot fix that congestion.