Underlining the challenges of U.S. ports and cross-border container traffic
Commissioner Richard A. Lidinsky, Jr. has announced the publication of the second annual update of the FMC’s 2012 “Study of U.S. Inland Containerized Cargo Moving through Canadian and Mexican Seaports.”
“I am proud that as Chairman to have issued this landmark report which continues to serve as a vital tool for the Congress as it legislates port, and water resources matters.” Commissioner Lidinsky also pointed out that the recently FMC-approved Talking Agreement between the ports of Seattle and Tacoma “is fully consistent with the findings and recommendations of the original report.“
While this update contains statistical data underlining the challenges of U.S. ports and cross-border container traffic, it will be further supplemented with additional figures in the coming weeks.
The highlights of the report include the legislative progress of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014, as well as initial Congressional discussions over the Harbor Maintenance Tax. In addition, the activities now allowed between Seattle and Tacoma in the new agreement are enumerated.
The report was prepared through the joint efforts of the offices of Commissioner William P. Doyle and Commissioner Lidinsky.
To view the 2014 Update, please click on the link below:
Source: FMC
| Initial FMC Ports Study |
| In July 2012, the Commission issued its initial FMC Ports Study. In undertaking the Study of U.S. Inland Containerized Cargo Moving Through Canadian and Mexican Seaports, the Commission was guided by Congressional requests to study the impacts and the extent to which the U.S. Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT), other U.S. policies, and other factors may incentivize container cargo to shift from U.S. West Coast ports to those located in Canada and Mexico. The FMC Ports Study posed three basic questions: first, whether there were any legal or regulatory bars to the carriage by sea and movement of U.S. inland containerized cargo entering via the Canadian or Mexican border; second, what competitive factors would drive a U.S. importer or exporter to route cargo through Mexican or Canadian ports; third, what Congress could do to “level the playing field” in facilitating U.S. ports competition with other North American cross-border ports by addressing the HMT structure. |
