This week, in the wake of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act that President Biden signed into law last month, US Congressmen John Garamendi and Jim Costa introduced new legislation to prioritize US shipping companies and exporters. If passed, a new law called “the AmericanPortAccess Privileges Act” would give US Merchant Marine and US Military ships – including the Jones Act fleet – benefits including the ability to bypass port congestion at major US ports.
“Foreign exporters’ access to the American market and our consumers is a privilege, not a right. Cargo ships looking to offload foreign-made products and profit off West Coastportsmust provide opportunities for American exports in return. This legislation would put American exports at the front of the line at ourportsto support American businesses and workers. Congress must restore fairness at ourportsfor American exporters to help reduce the United States’ longstanding trade imbalance with countries like China,”said Congressman John Garamendi.
Garamendi, who is one of the nation’s top Jones Act supporters and sits on the powerful Armed Forces Committee, has been successful in enacting maritime legislation this year. Garamendi’s bipartisan, bicameralOcean Shipping Reform Act of 2022, was signed into law by President Biden on June 16, 2022. Earlier this year his Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act recognized approximately 1,500 living US Merchant Marine veterans.
“Supply chain disruptions are hurting California farmers and exporters like never before,” said Costa. “We need to remove bottlenecks and mitigate congestion at ourportsto carry out American exports like the food grown in the San Joaquin Valley. I’m proud to introduce this legislation with Congressman Garamendi to boost American exports and to help our Valley’s agricultural economy recover,”said Congressman Jim Costa who co-sponsored the bill.
According to official documents the “AmericanPortAccess Privileges Act” would ensure fair trade for U.S. businesses and keep hard-won foreign markets accessible to California’s agricultural exporters by:
This proposed act comes among growing sentiment against foreign shipping companies and as American populist support for American exporters and American carriers grows. When President Biden visited the Port of Los Angeles last month he said supply chain challenges and related issues that address rising inflation are his “top economic priority.”
“Every once in a while, something you learn makes you viscerally angry. Like if you had the person in front of you, you’d want to pop them. No, I really mean it,” President Biden said, adding: “There are nine — nine major ocean line shipping companies that ship from Asia to the United States. Nine. They form three consortia. These companies have raised their prices by as much as 1,000 percent.”
This also comes as the Pentagon increasingly focuses on the US Merchant Marine and trade with China.
In May Biden selected a 4-star US Army General to become the next port envoy marking the first time in modern history that a top-ranking military officer worked at the White House on maritime-related issues.
The US Maritime Administration (MARAD) has not released a comment and, despite being tasked with supporting the US Merchant Marine, has been notably absent from the conversation about foreign carriers and the renewed political interest in supporting US Merchant Marine ships. According to freight journalist Rachel Premack, MARAD has not released a report comparing US Flag and Foreign Flag operating costs in over a decade.
Will @rrpre’s pic of Senator Wesley Jones, author of the #JonesAct, shooting laser-eyes at foreign big-box shipowners be the next big Twitter meme?
— John Konrad V (@johnkonrad) July 1, 2022
“I would love a more recent study,” said Premack in her recent Freightwaves article on US cargo preference. “But this is the best available from the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD).”
The new head of MARAD – US Maritime Service Commandant Ann Phillips – has been mostly absent from the public eye since assuming the job in May.
Only time will tell if this new wave of political support for the US Merchant Marine will be stoked in Washington or if support for the US Merchant Marine will blow over thanks to MARAD’s lack of communication and apparent disinterest in supporting the efforts of President Biden, General Lyons, and Congressmen Garamendi.
