Maritime Regulator Signs First-Ever Competition Agreement With DOJ

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) and the antitrust division of the Department of Justice have signed an agreement to sharpen economic oversight of foreign ocean carriers serving in the US international container trades.

The first-ever memorandum of understanding between the two agencies, signed on Monday, July 12, follows President Joe Biden’s executive order issued on Friday aimed at curbing potential anticompetitive behavior among 72 industries, including the maritime and freight rail sectors.

“The Federal Maritime Commission has an important enforcement role as an economic regulator of a vital industry,” said FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei in a statement. “As such, we will continually assess how the agency can improve its capacity to protect the integrity of the marketplace. This memorandum … supplements and strengthens the FMC’s ability to detect, address, and pursue violations of the law or anticompetitive behavior by those we regulate.”

The partnership with the FMC, according to Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard Powers, “is one of the many ways in which the Antitrust Division is prepared to play its role in achieving the competition objectives of the President’s Competition Executive Order.”

While the agreement is not legally binding and can be terminated by either agency, it is a sign that the Biden administration is taking seriously complaints by US exporters and lawmakers’ allegations against the container lines of overcharging on rates, unreasonable fees and refusals of service in favor of more lucrative imports.

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