The New U.s. Shipping Act Of 1984 - 1544 Words

The new U.S. Shipping Act, signed into law by President Reagan on March 10, 1984. The Shipping Act of 1984 altered and replaced what was in the previous Shipping Act of 1916. Some of the things which the Shipping Act of 1984 were different were that markets, industry, microeconomics, law, and regulations were all different since the Act of 1916. The Shipping Act of 1916 made all conference agreements subject to approval by the Federal Maritime Commission, or FMC for short. On August 3, 1981, Senator Gorton introduced a bill (S. 1593) to revise U.S. regulation of international liner shipping. This bill was the forerunner of the current Shipping Act of 1984. Where the Shipping Act of 1916 left unclear as to whether the FMC had ultimate†¦show more content†¦Although U.S. law has acknowledged the constructive role of conferences in the liner trades since the Shipping Act of 1916, the American commitment to free trade and competition has led Congress to disallow many features of international conferences. Most importantly, the Shipping Act of 1916 required shipping conferences transporting the foreign commerce of the United States to offer membership to any liner carrier capable of engaging in such service. U.S. conferences are therefore termed open conferences. A conference agreement had to meet a strict antitrust standard in order to be approved. Deferred rebates were illegal and the freedom of carriers to tie. S. 1593 provided for the following: (1) Legalization of closed conferences. (2) A broad scope of conference activities to enable carriers to discuss and fix prices and conditions of service, pool earnings and traffic, allot ports, regulate sailings, limit the volume and character of cargo carried, engage in exclusive working arrangements, enter into agreements to regulate and prevent competition among themselves, and bring intermodal cargo transportation under the ambit of permissible conference agreements. (3) Use of loyalty contracts, except deferred rebates. (4) Absolute antitrust immunity for ocean common carriers engaging in any activities described in (1), (2), or (3), above. (5) A limited right