WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House on Wednesday lauded improvements in clogged U.S. supply chains, with more goods moving than ever before, but said more work was needed to ensure fair competition in a global shipping sector dominated by three alliances of ocean carriers.
In a new blog, the White House National Economic Council said the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), an independent agency, was already investigating excessive shipping fees, but should consider using other tools, including challenging carrier alliances if they resulted in unreasonable costs or delays.
It also urged Congress to enact reforms to give the FMC more tools to oversee the global shipping sector, including boosting transparency about fees carriers charge their customers.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; additional reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, Diane Bartz in Washington and Jonathan Saul in London; Editing by Chris Reese)
