CREEL SEES PROBLEMS WITH CHINA’S NEW MARITIME REGULATIONS

CREEL SEES PROBLEMS WITH CHINA’S NEW MARITIME REGULATIONS    Harold Creel, chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, said that the new maritime transportation regulations adopted by China in December raise concerns and go in the opposite direction of U.S. maritime regulations.
   “From what I can see… there seems to be some problems,” Creel told American Shipper. “Some of the (Chinese) regulations go back to a pre-Ocean Shipping Reform Act era.”
   Creel said that it is not yet clear whether the service contract rates due to be filed with the Chinese authorities will be kept confidential by the regulator, as is the case now in the U.S., or whether they will become public, meaning a conflict of law with the U.S.
   He said that the Chinese appear to be moving in the opposite direction to the U.S.
   The “Regulations on International Maritime Transportation of the People’s Republic of China” would require ocean carriers and non-vessel-operating common carriers to file freight rates — both published rates and service contract rates — with an appropriate government agency. Published rates would only become effective 30 days after filing, while service contract rates would be effective 24 hours after filing.
   “The Maritime Administration is looking at these (issues) and talking to the Chinese in an attempt to address these problems,” Creel said, adding that the U.S. State Department and MarAd will be negotiating with their
Chinese government counterparts.
   “We prefer diplomatic resolution than using Section 19 (measures),” he added. Section 19 measures are punitive measures that can be taken by the FMC against non-U.S. ocean carriers to retaliate against unfair practices.