Merchant Marine Allies Partnership Act
House Bill Would Open U.S. Coastal Shipping Routes to NATO and Allied Foreign Vessels
Stalled
No legislative action in over 90 days.
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- Lets the Transportation Department approve some ships tied to U.S. allies to move goods between U.S. ports for up to 5 years at a time, with renewals allowed.
- Creates a State Department list of “ally” countries; countries on that list (including NATO members by default) can qualify ships, owners, and crews for these permissions.
- Allows qualifying ships to be owned and/or crewed by people from listed ally countries, and limits enforcement of some U.S. citizenship and credential rules on those ships.
- If a country is removed from the ally list, ships linked to that country can lose permission quickly (in some cases immediately), and ships built/rebuilt there can be barred during the removal period.
- Cuts a repair tax in certain cases by exempting some repair costs when U.S.-documented ships are repaired in shipyards located in listed ally countries.
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
How this policy affects specific groups of people
Milestones
Referred to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E747)
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Related News
5 articles
Bill would open US shipping to foreign allies
Legislation introduced by Reps. Ed Case and James Moylan would create a 'Foreign Ally Shipping Registry' and allow ships from allied nations to engage in U.S. coastwise trade. It also proposes waiving the 50% tax on major vessel modifications if performed in allied shipyards like South Korea.
'MASGA' gets boost with bipartisan U.S. bill to open market to allies
The Merchant Marine Allies Partnership Act aims to amend the 1920 Jones Act to allow allied countries, including South Korea, to build and repair U.S. merchant vessels. The bill is seen as a major catalyst for the 'Make American Shipbuilding Great Again' (MASGA) cooperation project.
Case wants US ships repaired by South Korea and Japan, rather than China
U.S. Reps. Ed Case and James Moylan introduced the Merchant Marine Allies Partnership Act to encourage maritime companies to work with allies on ship repairs. The bill seeks to close loopholes that currently allow Jones Act carriers to conduct major modifications in Chinese shipyards.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Merchant Marine Allies Partnership Act
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(1)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.