Trade groups applaud the signing of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) both express gratitude.
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) applauded the signing of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, S. 3580, by President Joe Biden. Following passage of the legislation by the House of Representatives earlier this week by a vote of 369-42, President Biden signed the bill into law on June 16. The enactment of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act sets in motion a series of new rules and regulations regarding ocean carrier practices that the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) must implement over the course of the next year.
The legislation was introduced in response to the vocal advocacy by NMPF, USDEC and other agricultural export and shipper organizations, as problems with effective ocean freight transportation worsened in 2021. Congressmen John Garamendi (D-Calif.) and Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), and Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) introduced similar versions of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act in the House and Senate, which both passed speedily through their respective chambers.