Federal

Ocean Shipping Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 677 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill is called the Ocean Shipping Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2023. It repeals certain exemptions (exceptions) from antitrust laws (rules that prevent companies from unfairly limiting competition). The bill also creates new requirements for the Federal Maritime Commission (the government agency that oversees ocean shipping) to analyze and report on mergers and acquisitions (when one company buys another company) in the ocean shipping industry.

Who It Affects

- Common carriers (companies that transport goods for customers via ocean shipping) - Marine terminal operators (companies that run ports where ships load and unload cargo) - The Federal Maritime Commission - The Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust (a Justice Department official) - Congress (specifically the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure)

Key Provisions

- Assessment agreements that are filed with the Federal Maritime Commission and are effective receive an exemption from antitrust laws (Sec. 2) - The Federal Maritime Commission must analyze and submit written views on mergers, acquisitions, or other transactions involving ocean shipping companies to the Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust (Sec. 4) - If the Federal Maritime Commission submits written views on a transaction, it must also send those views and a report to Congress analyzing whether companies involved are controlled carriers, the deal's impact on competition, the deal's impact on the U.S. trade position in international ocean shipping, and any other matters the Commission thinks Congress should know about (Sec. 4) - Section 40307 of title 46, United States Code is repealed (Sec. 3)

What Changes

If this bill becomes law, ocean shipping companies would lose a current exemption from antitrust rules. The Federal Maritime Commission would gain new responsibility to review and report to Congress about major deals in the ocean shipping industry.

Important Definitions

- Assessment agreement: Not defined in bill text - Antitrust laws: Not defined in bill text - Controlled carrier: Not defined in bill text - Common carrier: Not defined in bill text - Marine terminal operator: Not defined in bill text

Effective Date

Not specified in bill text

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1696 To repeal certain exemptions from antitrust laws, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 22, 2023 Mr. COSTA (for himself, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, and Mr. HARDER of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addi- tion to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To repeal certain exemptions from antitrust laws, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ocean Shipping Anti- 4 trust Enforcement Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:35 Apr 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1696.IH H1696 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1696 IH SEC. 2. ASSESSMENT AGREEMENTS. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 40305 of title 46, United 2 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘(d) EXEMPTION FROM ANTITRUST LAWS.—The 5 antitrust laws do not apply to an assessment agreement 6 that has been filed with the Commission and is effective 7 under this chapter.’’. 8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 40301(e) 9 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking 10 ‘‘sections 40305 and 40307(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 11 40305’’. 12 SEC. 3. REPEAL. 13 Section 40307 of title 46, United States Code, and 14 the item relating to that section in the analysis for chapter 15 403 of such title, are repealed. 16 SEC. 4. WRITTEN VIEWS ON MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 413 of title 46, United 18 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 19 lowing: 20 ‘‘§ 41311. Written views on mergers and acquisitions 21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Commissioners of the Federal 22 Maritime Commission may analyze and submit written 23 views on merger, acquisition, or other transactions of com- 24 mon carriers and marine terminal operators, under the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:35 Apr 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1696.IH H1696 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1696 IH antitrust laws, to the Assistant Attorney General for Anti- 1 trust. 2 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—If the Commissioners transmit a 3 written view to the Assistant Attorney General for Anti- 4 trust under subsection (a), the Commissioners shall trans- 5 mit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans- 6 portation of the Senate and the Committee n Transpor- 7 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 8 a copy of such views accompanied by a report analyzing 9 the following: 10 ‘‘(1) Whether each common carrier pertaining 11 to such transaction is a controlled carrier. 12 ‘‘(2) The impact of the proposed merger, acqui- 13 sition, or other transaction on competition within the 14 ocean shipping industry. 15 ‘‘(3) The impact of the proposed merger, acqui- 16 sition, or other transaction on the trade position of 17 the United States in the international ocean ship- 18 ping market, including any trade imbalance resulting 19 from the business practices of ocean common car- 20 riers. 21 ‘‘(4) Any other matter the Commissioners con- 22 sider to be of interest to Congress or the public.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:35 Apr 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1696.IH H1696 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1696 IH (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap- 1 ter 413 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by 2 adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘41311. Written views on mergers and acquisitions.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:35 Apr 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1696.IH H1696 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.