A bill in the U.S. House would repeal the exemption for ocean carriers from all federal antitrust laws and address unfair practices.

Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., has reintroduced the Ocean Shipping Antitrust Enforcement Act with cosponsors Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., John Garamendi, D-Calif., Josh Harder, D-Calif., and Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif.

No other transportation sector enjoys this unfair, anticompetitive exemption — not the airlines, railroads or trucking industry, the lawmakers said in introducing the bill.

Last June, President Biden signed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022, marking the first major overhaul of U.S. regulations for the international ocean shipping industry since 1989.

That broadened the federal Maritime Commission’s authority over carriers’ late charges and injuries practices, including refusal to carry U.S. export cargo. But it did not allow the FMC to enforce federal antitrust laws.

“For far too long, foreign shipping monopolies have manipulated the ocean shipping industry and employed unfair trade practices, hurting American exporters and consumers,” Costa said.

“We have seen delays, congestion and empty containers leaving American ports. It’s unfair and driving up costs,” he said.

The legislation, H.R. 1696, will hold foreign monopolies accountable, lower costs and level the playing field in ocean shipping, he said.

Big business needs to play by the rules, and the legislation gets the U.S. one step closer to protecting U.S. consumers and businesses from “price gouging” by foreign-flagged ocean carriers, Garamendi said.

“Foreign-flagged cargo vessels need to understand that access to the American market and its consumers is a privilege, not a right. Congress must restore balance at our ports and tackle the longstanding trade imbalance America has with China and other nations,” he said.

Families across the country are feeling the squeeze from rising consumer prices driven in part by delays and bottlenecks in the supply chains, Panetta said.

“This action is critical to protect American agricultural exporters, consumers and small businesses,” he said.

According to a February 2022 report by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the 10 largest ocean carriers, all of which are foreign-based companies, control more than 80% of the shipping market.

They have also formed alliances through which they pool vessels and capacity along defined routes, with little federal oversight to ensure fair competition, the lawmakers said.

The legislation would apply federal antitrust laws to foreign ocean shipping companies to untie the hands of current and future administrations to take stronger actions to defend U.S. exporters from unfair trade practices, they said.

Those unfair practices include unjustified container rate increases, exorbitant detention and demurrage fees, unexplained changes in shipping schedules and ships leaving ports with empty containers.

It also maintains and codifies employer immunity for collective bargaining within the maritime industry, which employers in all other U.S. industries enjoy under longstanding federal case law.

Additionally, it authorizes the FMC to formally comment on mergers and acquisitions under review by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.