NIT LEAGUE OPPOSES PROPOSED SHIP RESTRICTIONS IN DEFENSE BILL

NIT LEAGUE OPPOSES PROPOSED SHIP RESTRICTIONS IN DEFENSE BILL    The National Industrial Transportation League has asked for the removal of a proposed provision to the 2002 Defense Authorization Act, which could lead to restrictions on shippers and what vessel flag they could use to move their cargo.
   The NIT League said the bill’s provision (Section 1053, or the “National Defense Features Program” of H.R. 2586) would expand the authority of the Defense secretary, along with the Federal Maritime Commission, to determine whether an allied nation of the United States is engaged in restrictive trade practices and impose sanctions against that country’s flag vessels that serve U.S. trades.
   Section 1053 is also designed to encourage the construction of U.S.-flag ships that are militarily useful during times of war.
   But the ramifications of the provision could negatively impact legitimate shipping.
   “It is our belief that shippers should not be limited in their choice of shipping companies, as long as those companies are not engaged in predatory pricing which is solely designed to limit the choice of service providers in a particular trade,” said Edward M. Emmett, president of NIT League, in a recent letter to the Senate and House armed forces conferees.
   “Under the bill as currently drafted, many U.S. companies may find themselves in the unfortunate position of having few options when moving products to and from the United States,” Emmett added.
   The conferees from the Senate and House Armed Services Committees are expected to convene this week to settle differences in the Defense Authorization bill.