Exporters and importers will soon have a stronger voice in the Federal Maritime Commission in the form of a National Shipper Advisory Committee, which the FMC is working to implement. On May 19, the Commission voted to publish and file the Charter necessary to formally establish the National Shipper Advisory Committee. Qualified candidates may soon apply to be appointed to the Committee.
The National Shipper Advisory Committee will consist of 24 members, evenly divided between exporters and importers. The Committee was created as part of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (H.R. 6395) to ”… advise the Federal Maritime Commission on policies relating to the competitiveness, reliability, integrity, and fairness of the international ocean freight delivery system.”
A notice will be published in the Federal Register soliciting nominations and outlining qualifications of applicants, obligations of Committee members, and steps for how to apply for membership. The solicitation should be published soon in the Federal Register and on the Commission’s website. Commissioner Rebecca F. Dye welcomed the development noting that she highlighted the need to form a Shipper Advisory Board as one of her final recommendations at the conclusion of Fact Finding 28 was . "I am grateful for the support this initiative had in both the Senate and the House and for its inclusion in last year’s National Defense Authorization Act. I encourage individuals with original ideas and a desire to lead to submit applications to be members of this Committee. There is no shortage of issues demanding the Commission’s attention. I am confident that with the right mix of people serving on the Advisory Committee, we can make meaningful progress in addressing those that are most urgent for the benefit of America’s freight delivery system," she said.
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