New bipartisan bill to authorize FMC to block anticompetitive agreements

Posted on May 1, 2023   |  

The new bipartisan bill will give the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) the ability to block anti-competitive contracts between ocean carriers and marine terminal operators.

The Ocean Shipping Antitrust Enforcement Act (H.R.2710), will permit FMC to assure that any contracts between these entities are not unduly anti-competitive.

Its objective is to let FMC fully implement the law and promote fair, competitive markets in the ocean shipping industry, which has been dominated by 9 foreign-flagged ocean liners that openly collude under 3 carrier alliances handling 80% of the cargo.