Jim Costa: “I now want to turn to an important issue that is affecting our economy, and that is the supply chain issue. Congress can…”

“I now want to turn to an important issue that is affecting our economy, and that is the supply chain issue. Congress can take effective action by cracking down on foreign-owned shipping companies that have monopolized the industry and that are creating inflationary pressures. My bill, the Ocean Shipping Antitrust Enforcement Act, subjects foreign-owned ocean shipping carriers to American antitrust law, as they should be. This builds on provisions in the Ocean Shipping Reform Act that Representative Garamendi and I and others are supporting that has already passed the House. Together, these pieces of legislation protect American exporters from unfair trade practices like container rate increases, sudden change in shipping schedules, unreasonable fees by shipping companies, and ships leaving ports with empty containers after they have offloaded their goods here in America. Agricultural producers in California are suffering. A University of California study found that in the fall of 2021, an empty container leaving California ports hit almost 80 percent, pre-pandemic it was about 30 percent. This is an unfair trade practice. President Biden said in this very Chamber during the State of the Union--on the topic of ocean shipping reform--that capitalism without competition is exploitation. It is. We must answer the President's call to get this meaningful ocean shipping reform legislation to his desk. God Bless Ukraine”