IWLA Joins Industry Letter to OSRA22 Sponsors

IWLA signed onto a joint letter of nearly 90 other supply chain stakeholders expressing industry wide support for S.3580, the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA22). The letter is a testament to the broad support the bipartisan bill enjoys. The legislation would bring significant reform to demurrage and detention issues and modernize the Shipping Act to help address 21st century challenges.

The signees encouraged the Senate to quickly pass OSRA22 and move forward with reconciling the differences in the bill with the House-passed legislation. The letter cites ongoing supply chain disruptions and ballooning inflation as reasons OSRA22 should move quickly through the Senate. Cargo owners and trucks continue to face increasing detention and demurrage fees for port congestion issues beyond their control. OSRA22 would shift the burden of proof regarding the reasonableness of detention and demurrage charges from the invoiced party to the ocean carrier and require carriers to certify that charges comply with federal regulations or face penalties.

IWLA endorsed OSRA21 in October of 2021. The U.S. House passed the legislation by a 364 – 60 vote in December of 2021 and again last month as an amendment to the America COMPETES Act. The White House endorsed the legislation late last year.

To become an IWLA member visit, http://31y.93c.myftpupload.com/become-an-iwla-member/