Study on the Prospects of and Responses to the U.S. Ocean Shipping Reform Act after the Pandemic

Abstract

Purpose : This study examined the main contents of the U.S. Shipping Reform Act of 2022 and the future prospects of and responses to the Act in the post-pandemic era. Research design, data, methodology : This study is related to the U.S. Ocean Shipping Reform Act. The literature from all institutions related to the focus of this paper, apart from various foreign academic journals and books, was reviewed to identify a suitable research method on the prospects of and responses to the U.S. Ocean Shipping Reform Act after the Pandemic. Results : The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the amendment bill for the Ocean Shipping Reform Act on March 31, 2022. The bill was passed by a vote of 346 to 60 in the House in December 2021 and was sent to the Senate in February 2022. As mentioned in the introduction, the main purposes of the bill were to support the growth and development of U.S. exports by amending provisions related to ocean shipping policy and promote reciprocal trade in the common carriage of goods by sea in the foreign commerce of the United States. The main contents of the law are provisions on the establishment and enforcement of regulations required for the FMC to regulate unreasonable and unfair detention and demurrage charges. In particular, under the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022, the FMC is required to post and annually update the findings by the FMC about false certifications of ocean carriers or marine terminal operators and all the penalties imposed against the relevant ocean carriers or marine terminal operators. The FMC is also given the authority to prohibit common ocean carriers or marine terminal operators from taking retaliatory or discriminatory actions against a shipper only because the shipper has filed a complaint. In addition, the new Act also grants the FMC the authority to issue an emergency order to require ocean carriers or marine terminal operators to directly share information on cargo throughput and availability with relevant shippers, rail carriers or motor carriers. Conclusions : This result shows that carriers cannot refuse cargo space accommodations when available for the cargo of U.S. exporters. The loaded and discharged cargo volumes (e.g., WEIGHT/TEU) of ships making port in the U.S. must be reported to the FMC every quarter. The FMC is given the authority to initiate an investigation of the business operation status of shipping companies and may take appropriate enforcement action. The FMC is required to establish a new institution within the FMC to increase shippers’ bargaining power through the registration and transparent management of various shipping indexes.