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Lawmakers ask Federal Maritime Commission to address shipping delays

House Ag Committee members recently met with Federal Maritime Commission leaders to discuss ongoing shipping delays impacting the U.S. ag sector.

Congressman Jim Costa, chair of the subcommittee on livestock and foreign agriculture, says ag exports are being negatively impacted because of the backlog and shortage of shipping containers.

“They’re shipping in products to the United States, and of course we’re the largest consumer market in the world, but yet to have those same containers go back empty is absolutely unfair,” he says.  

The California Democrat tells Brownfield lawmakers are calling on the Federal Maritime Commission to address unfair trade policies hindering the U.S. from competing in the global marketplace.

Costa says the commission has an ongoing investigation into the shipping delays.  

“They are raising those issues with those countries that are engaged in this effort and we hope we’ll get a resolution sooner than later,” he says.  

Representatives Dusty Johnson of South Dakota, Bob Gibbs of Ohio, and Salud Carbajal of California also participated in the virtual meeting with Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Dan Maffei and Commissioner Rebecca Dye.