WASHINGTON – The National Retail Federation issued the following statement from Senior Vice President for Government Relations David French after the House gave final approval to the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022.

“Retailers and thousands of other businesses depend on the global maritime transportation system to move goods through the supply chain every day and continue to face significant challenges, including unfair business practices by ocean carriers. Making OSRA federal law helps address longstanding systemic supply chain and port disruption issues that existed well before the pandemic by providing the Federal Maritime Commission the additional authority it needs. Additionally, it provides critical updates to the international maritime transportation system, which has been severely impacted by COVID-19.

“We commend Congressmen John Garamendi and Dusty Johnson and Senators Amy Klobuchar and John Thune for their bipartisan leadership on this important legislation.

“These improvements come at a time when inflation has reached a 40-year high. NRF has championed the effort to pass OSRA as one of the steps necessary to Lower Inflation Now and ease pressure on American businesses, workers and consumers. It serves as the final piece of NRF’s Save Our Shipments grassroots campaign. The targeted advocacy effort focused on legislative solutions to address the retail industry’s supply chain challenges, including passing the bipartisan infrastructure bill and adding more truck drivers to the workforce.”

NRF this week sent a key vote letter to House leadership urging members to approve OSRA and finally deliver this critical legislation to President Biden’s desk. NRF also helped spearhead a letter to congressional leadership encouraging final passage of the bill that was signed by over 90 trade associations.

About NRF
The National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association, passionately advocates for the people, brands, policies and ideas that help retail thrive. From its headquarters in Washington, D.C., NRF empowers the industry that powers the economy. Retail is the nation’s largest private-sector employer, contributing $3.9 trillion to annual GDP and supporting one in four U.S. jobs — 52 million working Americans. For over a century, NRF has been a voice for every retailer and every retail job, educating, inspiring and communicating the powerful impact retail has on local communities and global economies. NRF.com