Congress demands action by Maritime Commission on ag exports

A letter from over 100 members of Congress was sent March 9 to the Federal Maritime Commission over continued concerns over the inability of U.S. agriculture to export goods overseas. These concerns follow reports that "certain vessel-operating common carriers (VOCC) are declining to ship U.S. agricultural commodity exports from our ports," according to the letter, which was made public late Tuesday after having been provided to Farm Progress.The concerns raised by agricultural exporters across the country surfaced last year, Investigations were reportedly started by the Federal Maritime Commission shortly thereafter to investigate allegations of possible illegal trade activities. Nearly half of all agricultural production from California and about 20 percent of U.S. agricultural production is affected by the shipping slowdowns, lawmakers say. The letter reveals bipartisan support over the issue of shipping companies sending empty containers on vessels to Asia, rather than fill them with U.S. agricultural goods. Reports from California suggest agricultural commodities shipped to China must first move inland for processing, emptying and return to seaports, increasing the time at that end to refill shipping containers and send them back with consumer goods to the United States. In the letter to Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Michael Khouri, the decision by maritime carriers to leave U.S. ports with empty containers "constricts entire supply chains and propels trade to move only in an inbound direction." The letter goes on to call such moves "unacceptable" and harmful to the U.S. economy...MORE