H.R. 4183 — Federal Maritime Commission Reauthorization Act of 2025

This section authorizes appropriations to the Federal Maritime Commission of $49,200,000 for fiscal year 2026 and $49,200,000 for fiscal year 2027 (previously, $32,869,000 for FY2022, $38,260,000 for FY2023, $43,720,000 for FY2024, and $49,200,000 for FY2025).

This section revises the purposes of the ocean shipping regulatory regime (46 U.S.C. 40101) by (1) narrowing the scope of the assured efficient, competitive, and economical transportation system in paragraph (2) to the common carriage of goods by water in the foreign commerce of the United States (from in the ocean commerce of the United States); and (2) changing the goal in paragraph (4) to support (from promote) the growth and development of U.S. exports through a competitive and efficient water carriage system with greater reliance on the marketplace.

This section revises the definition of ocean common carrier in 46 U.S.C. §40102(9)—which generally covers vessel-operating common carriers providing for-hire liner service between U.S. and foreign ports—to also include such a carrier owned or controlled by, a subsidiary of, or otherwise related legally or financially (excluding minority relationships or investments) to a corporation based in, headquartered in, or significantly linked to a country that (1) is identified as a nonmarket economy country under 19 U.S.C. §1677(18) as of enactment of the Federal Maritime Commission Reauthorization Act of 2025, (2) is designated by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) as a priority foreign country on the priority watch list under 19 U.S.C. §2242(a)(2), or (3) is subject to USTR monitoring under 19 U.S.C. §2416. (Thus, such carriers become subject to Federal Maritime Commission regulation under the Shipping Act of 1984.) It also makes a conforming amendment to 46 U.S.C. §46106(b)(7).

This section amends the Federal Maritime Commission's (FMC) exemption authority for shipping exchanges under 46 U.S.C. §40504(c) to include investigating complaints and adds §40505, which (1) authorizes any person to submit to the FMC information alleging market manipulation or other anticompetitive practices by shipping exchanges registered under §40504, (2) requires the FMC to accept such submissions and promptly investigate their accuracy, and (3) requires the FMC to report to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation the results of any investigation finding such practices. (Shipping exchanges are digital platforms registered with the FMC that facilitate trading of ocean shipping services or contracts.)

This section revises Federal Maritime Commission responsibilities concerning the shipping exchange registry (i.e., a platform authorizing reciprocal exchanges of vessel space or capacity among ocean common carriers) by (1) changing the deadline to 2 years after the date of enactment of the Federal Maritime Commission Reauthorization Act of 2025 (from 3 years after the date of enactment of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022), (2) requiring the Commission to ensure consistency with specified requirements rather than set standards necessary to carry out those requirements, and (3) replacing "by" with "via".

This section repeals section 40706 of title 46, United States Code, eliminating exemptions from chapter 407 (Controlled Carriers)—which regulates rates, services, and practices of government-controlled ocean carriers to prevent discrimination against U.S.-flag carriers—for (1) controlled carriers of foreign countries whose vessels are entitled by U.S. treaty to national or most-favored-nation treatment, and (2) trades served only by controlled carriers. (Thus, chapter 407 now applies to such carriers and trades.)

This section amends Section 41110 of title 46, United States Code, by designating the existing quarterly reporting requirement as subsection (a), titled "Quarterly report," and adding subsection (b). Subsection (b) prohibits the Federal Maritime Commission from requiring reports under subsection (a) that duplicate data already submitted (1) to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pursuant to 33 U.S.C. 555 by ocean common carriers acting as vessel operators, (2) to U.S. Customs and Border Protection pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1481 by merchandise importers, or (3) to the Department of Commerce pursuant to 13 U.S.C. 301—unless such data is unavailable in a timely manner or usable form.

This section establishes nondisclosure requirements for information and documents developed by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) during investigations of potential violations of ocean shipping laws. Disclosure is prohibited unless the FMC determines by majority vote that such materials are relevant to an administrative or judicial proceeding and agrees by majority vote to disclose them.

This section revises the National Shipper Advisory Committee (i.e., short-named the "Shipper Committee") under 46 U.S.C. §42502 by eliminating its standalone function subsection (previously advising the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) on the competitiveness, reliability, integrity, and fairness of the international ocean freight delivery system) and redesignating its membership provisions (24 members, with 12 representing cargo importers and 12 exporters using ocean common carriers) as subsection (b). The section establishes a National Port Advisory Committee under new §42503 consisting of 13 members appointed by the FMC (5 representing marine terminal operators, 5 port authorities, and 3 longshore and maritime labor) and a National Ocean Carrier Advisory Committee under new §42504 consisting of 9 members appointed by the FMC representing ocean carriers serving U.S. seaports and terminals (at least 3 of whom are ocean transportation intermediaries). The section further establishes under new §42505 a shared function for these covered committees to advise the FMC on policies relating to the competitiveness, reliability, and efficiency of the international ocean freight delivery system (thus generalizing and slightly modifying the prior shipper committee function by replacing "integrity, and fairness" with "efficiency"); redesignates former §42503 (administrative provisions) as §42506; and makes conforming amendments to §§42501 and 42506 to define "covered committee" as these three committees and extend administrative requirements (e.g., appointments, meetings, and operations) to all of them.

This section revises the Federal Maritime Commission's (FMC) annual report to Congress on foreign laws and practices affecting U.S.-flag carriers under 46 U.S.C. 46106(b) by (1) in paragraph (6), striking "and" at the end and replacing "under this part" with "under chapter 403" (i.e., controlled carriers); (2) in paragraph (7), inserting "anticompetitive, nonreciprocal trade, or" before "otherwise concerning practices," adding "or marine terminal operators" after "controlled carriers," and inserting "and" at the end; and (3) adding new paragraphs (8) requiring an analysis of trade imbalances resulting from ocean common carriers' business practices, including data collected under section 41110, and (9) requiring aggregated findings from the FMC's Vessel-Operating Common Carrier Audit Program established July 18, 2021, under its rule interpreting section 41102(c). This section also amends section 46106(d)(2) to expand public disclosure requirements to marine terminal operators in addition to common carriers.

This section directs the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to promulgate, not later than one year after enactment, an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on data acquisition, use, and protection practices for price indexes of containerized ocean freight published by registered shipping exchanges (under 46 U.S.C. 40504) for U.S. shippers. The FMC must publish a final rule on this matter not later than three years after enactment.

This section makes technical amendments to the table of contents for subtitle IV and chapter 425 of title 46, United States Code, by revising the chapter heading to "National Advisory Committees" and specifying the section numbers and titles as follows: Sec. 42501 (Definitions), 42502 (National Shipper Advisory Committee), 42503 (National Port Advisory Committee), 42504 (National Ocean Carrier Advisory Committee), 42505 (Function), and 42506 (Administration).