IAM continues to follow a number of Executive Orders, legislative and regulatory activity impacting the domestic and, in some cases, global household goods industry.
Highlighted are a few of the recent actions taken, and IAM input as opportunities were presented.
White House Executive Order to Require English Proficiency for CDL Drivers
Yesterday, the White House issued an Executive Order (EO), emphasizing the need to enforce current federal law that requires individuals operating a commercial vehicle to “read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records.”
Per the EO, the U.S. Dept, of Transportation (DOT) is also tasked with review and evaluation of non-domiciled CDLs issued by state agencies, along with any actions needed to improve the effectiveness of current protocols for verifying the authenticity and validity of both domestic and international commercial driving credentials. Any violations of the EO in subsequent regulations will result in the driver being placed out-of-service, with current out-of-service criteria also required to be adjusted to include the intent of the EO.
The DOT has sixty days to carry out necessary regulatory actions implementing that Executive Order. IAM will report out additional specifics of the requirements, once issued by the Department.
U.S. DOT Directives Included in Mark-Up of Budget Reconciliation Measure
On April 29th, the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee began their work, as directed by the House-passed Budget reconciliation proposal. The resolution passed the House of Representatives on April 10th.
Of note, the legislation directs the US DOT, in coordination with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), to publish public-facing motor carrier safety data, indicating whether the motor carrier meets or does not meet all Administration operating requirements.
Once established, the public-facing website is directed to state for each motor carrier one of the following statements:
“This motor carrier meets Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration operating requirements and is authorized to operate on the nation’s roadways”
OR
“This motor carrier does not meet Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration operating requirements and is not authorized to operate on the nation’s roadways”
All brokers, freight forwarders and household goods freight forwarders that utilize the website in order to review these credentials are considered to have taken necessary reasonable and prudent determinations. Of note, there is a $100 annual fee for all individuals seeking to access the website.
As the other House Committees will be marking up their budget reconciliation legislation over the next two to three weeks, the House’s passage goal has been moved from Memorial Day weekend to July 4th.
IAM will continue to follow the legislation and Committee processes as they pertain to the household goods moving industry.
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Issues Final Action on Sec. 310 Fees
Fines Destined for Shippers on Ocean Carrier Lines Reduced & Timeframe for Implementation Staggered
The USTR released the final actions and rule on the Sec. 301 China shipbuilding issue. Last month, IAM joined dozens of trade associations requesting the proposed fees (which would ultimately be passed on from the ocean carriers to their customers) be paused, as the US works to develop a long-term domestic ship building strategy.
Partly in response to industry and stakeholder input, USTR made significant changes from the initial proposed actions in the final rule. They have removed the fees for vessel operators with Chinese-built ships on order or those who have Chinese-built ships in their fleet. They have changed the fee to apply per U.S. voyage and no more than five times a year. The fees have been changed from a flat fee to a fee based on the net tonnage of the vessel, and will also be phased in.
If you have questions on these or other legislative and regulatory issues, please reach out to Bryan Vickers, with IAM’s Legislative and Regulatory team bvickers@pacellp.com, 703-403-2882.