Legislation Seeks to Improve Transparency and Fairness for Fees Assessed to Shippers

The IAM-supported Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021 (OSRA), H.R. 4996  which would improve fairness, establish boundaries and set metrics for fees often incurred by the household goods and global shipping community passed the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday by a vote of 364 to 60. The bipartisan show of support in the House follows  endorsement of the legislation by the Biden Administration. 

At a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee hearing earlier this week, Sens. John Thune (R-SD) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) announced they will be introducing companion legislation. Similar to the House, the Senate has been studying and reviewing supply chain challenges for imports and exports, alongside the increasing costs incurred by the broader shipper community. IAM will continue to follow the progress of this legislation, and engage with support as appropriate.