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ACD Press Release

Arlington, VA
March 31, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aileen Smith
571-482-3040
asmith@acd-chem.com

Senate Unanimously Passes OSRA;
NACD Applauds Important Step Toward Ending the Supply Chain Crisis

 

Arlington, VA – National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) President and CEO Eric R. Byer issued the following statement today welcoming the passage of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (S.3580) by the U.S. Senate.

“For well over a year, NACD has been ringing the alarm about the supply chain crisis, its impacts on businesses and consumers, and potential solutions. President Biden highlighted the shipping crisis during his State of the Union address last month, and his Administration is now investigating antitrust, competition, and price collusion in the ocean carrier industry. Congress is also conducting its own review of ocean shipping practices.

Now, the Senate has taken bold action on a critical component of addressing the supply chain crisis by unanimously passing the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (S.3580). The Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 will strengthen the Federal Maritime Commission’s (FMC) current enforcement abilities, expanding its authority to ensure industry-wide compliance with federal law, and establishing a streamlined process for addressing demurrage and detention complaints. It will also give the General Accounting Office (GAO) the tools it needs to investigate the extent to which ocean carriers have systemically discriminated against the transportation of hazardous materials (HazMat).

NACD thanks the Senate for quickly passing this important bill, and Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Thune (R- SD) for their leadership on this issue. We encourage Congress to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the bill so that we can move forward expeditiously with the ocean shipping reform that is necessary for our nation’s economic and national security.”

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NACD and its over 400 member and Affiliate companies are vital to the chemical supply chain providing products to over 750,000 end users. NACD members are leaders in health, safety, security, and environmental performance through implementation of Responsible Distribution, established in 1991 as a condition of membership and a third party-verified management practice. For more information on NACD, visit www.acd-chem.com.