Ag Exporters Ask Trump Adminsitration to Expedite FMC Demurrage Rule

Eighty agricultural trade groups are asking the Trump administration to push through a proposed Federal Maritime Commission rule that would provide guidance about how the FMC assesses the fairness of demurrage and detention practices. The rule would help mitigate the “ongoing unconscionable imposition of millions of dollars” of detention penalties being faced by agricultural exporters, whose shipments are being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the groups said in an April 3 letter. The groups -- which include dairy, meat, grain, vegetable and fruit trade associations -- urged White House Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue “to work with the FMC to expeditiously adopt the Interpretive Rule as published.”

The detention and demurrage fees continue to be exorbitant, “even exceeding the negotiated freight rates in some cases,” the letter said, and are hurting the global competitiveness of U.S. agricultural exports. “The ongoing injury to US agriculture and forestry industries as a result of these unjustified penalties is very real, especially with the challenges posed by the coronavirus [crisis],” the letter said.