TITLE 46 - US CODE - CHAPTER 553 - PASSENGER AND CARGO PREFERENCES

TITLE 46 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER I - GENERAL

46 USC 55301 - Priority loading for coal

A vessel engaged in the coastwise transportation of coal produced in the United States, from a port in the United States to another port in the United States, shall be given priority in loading at any of those ports ahead of a waiting vessel engaged in the export transportation of coal produced in the United States. However, if the Secretary of Transportation finds that it is in the national interest, the Secretary may eliminate this priority loading at any port. The Secretary shall report to Congress within 30 days an action eliminating priority loading under this section.

46 USC 55302 - Transportation of United States Government personnel

(a) In General.—
An officer or employee of the United States Government traveling by sea on official business overseas or to or from a territory or possession of the United States shall travel and transport personal effects on a vessel documented under the laws of the United Sates if such a vessel is available, unless the necessity of the mission requires the use of a foreign vessel.

(b) Regulations.—
The Administrator of General Services shall prescribe regulations under which agencies may not pay for or reimburse an officer or employee for travel or transportation expenses incurred on a foreign vessel in the absence of satisfactory proof of the necessity of using the vessel.

46 USC 55303 - Motor vehicles owned by United States Government personnel

Notwithstanding any other law, privately-owned American shipping services may be used to transport motor vehicles owned by personnel of the United States Government whenever transportation of those vehicles at Government expense is otherwise authorized by law.

46 USC 55304 - Exports financed by the United States Government

It is the sense of Congress that any loans made by an instrumentality of the United States Government to foster the exporting of agricultural or other products shall provide that the products may be transported only on vessels of the United States unless, as to any or all of those products, the Secretary of Transportation, after investigation, certifies to the instrumentality that vessels of the United States are not available in sufficient number, in sufficient tonnage capacity, on necessary schedules, or at reasonable rates.

46 USC 55305 - Cargoes procured, furnished, or financed by the United States Government

(a) Definition.—
In this section, the term privately-owned commercial vessel of the United States does not include a vessel that, after September 21, 1961, was built or rebuilt outside the United States or documented under the laws of a foreign country, until the vessel has been documented under the laws of the United States for at least 3 years.

(b) Minimum Tonnage.—
When the United States Government procures, contracts for, or otherwise obtains for its own account, or furnishes to or for the account of a foreign country without provision for reimbursement, any equipment, materials, or commodities, within or without the United States, or advances funds or credits, or guarantees the convertibility of foreign currencies in connection with the furnishing of the equipment, materials, or commodities, the appropriate agencies shall take steps necessary and practicable to ensure that at least 50 percent of the gross tonnage of the equipment, materials, or commodities (computed separately for dry bulk carriers, dry cargo liners, and tankers) which may be transported on ocean vessels is transported on privately-owned commercial vessels of the United States, to the extent those vessels are available at fair and reasonable rates for commercial vessels of the United States, in a manner that will ensure a fair and reasonable participation of commercial vessels of the United States in those cargoes by geographic areas.

(c) Waivers.—
The President, the Secretary of Defense, or Congress (by concurrent resolution or otherwise) may waive this section temporarily by

(1) declaring the existence of an emergency justifying a waiver; and

(2) notifying the appropriate agencies of the waiver.

(d) Programs of Other Agencies.—
An agency having responsibility under this section shall administer its programs with respect to this section under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Transportation. The Secretary shall review the administration of those programs and report annually to Congress on their administration.

TITLE 46 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER II - EXPORT TRANSPORTATION OF AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES

46 USC 55311 - Findings and purposes

(a) Findings.—
Congress finds that

(1) a productive and healthy agricultural industry and a strong and active United States maritime industry are vitally important to the economic well-being and security of the United States;

(2) both industries must compete in international markets increasingly dominated by foreign trade barriers and the subsidization practices of foreign governments; and

(3) increased agricultural exports and the use of merchant vessels of the United States contribute positively to the United States balance of trade and generate employment opportunities in the United States.

(b) Purposes.—
The purposes of this subchapter are to

(1) enable the Secretary of Agriculture to plan export programs effectively, by clarifying the ocean transportation requirements applicable to those programs;

(2) take immediate and positive steps to promote the growth of the cargo-carrying capacity of the United States merchant marine;

(3) expand international trade in United States agricultural commodities and products and develop, maintain, and expand markets for United States agricultural exports;

(4) improve the efficiency of administration of both the commodity purchasing and selling activities and the ocean transportation activities associated with export programs sponsored by the Secretary;

(5) stimulate and promote the agricultural and maritime industries of the United States and encourage cooperative efforts by both industries to address their common problems; and

(6) provide for the appropriate disposition of these findings and purposes.

46 USC 55312 - Determining prevailing world market price

(a) Agricultural Commodities and Products.—
The prevailing world market price for agricultural commodities or their products shall be determined under this subchapter under procedures prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture. The Secretary shall prescribe the procedures by regulation, with notice and opportunity for public comment under section 553 of title 5.

(b) Services and Non-Agricultural Commodities and Products.—
If a determination of the prevailing world market price of any other type of materials, goods, equipment, or service is required to determine whether a barter or exchange transaction is subject to section 55314 (b)(6) or (7) of this title, the determination shall be made by the Secretary of Agriculture in consultation with the heads of other appropriate agencies.

46 USC 55313 - Exemption of certain agricultural exports from cargo preference provisions

Sections 55304 and 55305 of this title do not apply to export activities of the Secretary of Agriculture or the Commodity Credit Corporation under which

(1) agricultural commodities or their products acquired by the Corporation are made available to United States exporters, users, processors, or foreign purchasers for the purpose of developing, maintaining, or expanding export markets for United States agricultural commodities or their products at prevailing world market prices;

(2) payments are made available to United States exporters, users, or processors or, except as provided in section 55314 of this title, cash grants are made available to foreign purchasers, for the purpose described in paragraph (1);

(3) commercial credit guarantees are blended with direct credits from the Corporation to reduce the effective rate of interest on export sales of United States agricultural commodities or their products;

(4) credit or credit guarantees for not more than 3 years are extended by the Corporation to finance or guarantee export sales of United States agricultural commodities or their products; or

(5) agricultural commodities or their products owned or controlled by or under loan from the Corporation are exchanged or bartered for materials, goods, equipment, or services at least equal in value to the agricultural commodities or their products for which they are exchanged or bartered (determined on the basis of prevailing world market prices at the time of the exchange or barter), but this paragraph does not exempt from the cargo preference provisions referred to in section 55314 (b) of this title any requirement otherwise applicable to the materials, goods, equipment, or services imported under the transaction.

46 USC 55314 - Transportation requirements for certain exports sponsored by the Secretary of Agriculture

(a) Minimum Tonnage.—

(1) In general.—
In addition to the requirement under section 55305 of this title for the transportation of a percentage of gross tonnage on commercial vessels of the United States, 25 percent of the gross tonnage of agricultural commodities or their products specified in subsection (b) shall be transported each calendar year on commercial vessels of the United States that

(A) are necessary for national security; and

(B) if more than 25 years old, were rebuilt within the last 5 years and certified by the Secretary of Transportation as having a useful life of at least 5 years after that rebuilding.

(2) Calendar year.—
To provide for effective and equitable administration of the cargo preference laws, the calendar year for the purpose of compliance with minimum percentage requirements is the 12-month period beginning October 1 of each year.

(b) Applicable Export Activity.—
This section applies to export activity (except inspection or weighing activities, other activities carried out for health or safety, or technical assistance provided in the handling of commercial transactions) of the Secretary of Agriculture or the Commodity Credit Corporation

(1) carried out under the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.);

(2) carried out under section 416 of the Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1431);

(3) carried out under the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act (7 U.S.C. 1736f–1);

(4) under which agricultural commodities or their products are

(A) donated through foreign governments or private or public agencies, including intergovernmental organizations; or

(B) sold for foreign currencies or for dollars on credit terms of more than 10 years;

(5) under which agricultural commodities or their products are made available for emergency food relief at less than prevailing world market prices;

(6) under which a cash grant is made directly or through an intermediary to a foreign purchaser to enable the purchaser to obtain United States agricultural commodities or their products in an amount greater than the difference between the prevailing world market price and the United States market price, free along side vessel at a United States port; or

(7) under which agricultural commodities owned or controlled by or under loan from the Corporation are exchanged or bartered for materials, goods, equipment, or services produced in foreign countries, except export activities described in section 55313 (5) of this title.

(1) Application of section 55305.—
The requirement for transportation on vessels of the United States under subsection (a) is subject to the same terms and conditions as provided in section 55305 of this title.

(2) Allocation of commodities.—
Subject to paragraph (3), in carrying out this section and section 55305 of this title, the Corporation shall take steps necessary and practicable, and consistent with this section and section 55305, without detriment to any port range to allocate, on the principle of lowest landed cost without regard to the country of registry of the vessel, 25 percent of the bagged, processed, or fortified commodities provided under title II of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1721 et seq.).

(3) Calculations.—
In carrying out paragraph (2), first there shall be calculated the allocation of 100 percent of the quantity to be procured on an overall lowest landed cost basis without regard to the country of registry of the vessel, and then there shall be allocated to the Great Lakes port range any cargoes for which it has the lowest landed cost under that calculation. The requirements for transportation on vessels of the United States under this section and section 55305 of this title do not apply to commodities allocated to the Great Lakes port range under paragraph (2). Commodities allocated to the Great Lakes port range under paragraph (2) may not be reallocated or diverted to another port range to meet those requirements to the extent that the total tonnage of commodities to which paragraph (2) applies that is furnished and transported from the Great Lakes port range is less than 25 percent of the total annual tonnage of the commodities furnished.

(4) Awarding contracts.—
In awarding a contract for the transportation by vessel of commodities from the Great Lakes port range pursuant to an export activity referred to in subsection (b), an agency

(A) shall consider expressions of freight interest for any vessel from a vessel operator who meets reasonable requirements for financial and operational integrity; and

(B) may not deny award of the contract to a person based on the type of vessel on which the transportation would be provided (including on the basis that the transportation would not be provided on a liner vessel, as that term is used in the Shipping Act of 1984, as in effect on November 14, 1995), if the person otherwise satisfies reasonable requirements for financial and operational integrity.

(5) Nonavailability of vessels.—
A determination of nonavailability of vessels of the United States resulting from the application of this subsection may not reduce the gross tonnage of commodities required by this section and section 55305 of this title to be transported on vessels of the United States.

46 USC 55315 - Minimum tonnage

(a) Definition.—
In this section, the term base period means the 5-year period running from the sixth through the second prior fiscal years.

(b) Requirement.—
For each fiscal year, the minimum quantity of agricultural commodities to be exported under programs subject to section 55314 of this title is the average of the tonnage exported under those programs during the base period, discarding the high and low years.

(c) Waivers.—
The President may waive the minimum quantity for a fiscal year under this section if the President determines and reports to Congress, together with reasons, that the quantity cannot be used effectively for the purposes of those programs or, based on a certification by the Secretary of Agriculture, that the commodities are not available for reasons that include the unavailability of funds.

46 USC 55316 - Financing the transportation of agricultural commodities

(a) Financing of Increased Charges.—
The Secretary of Transportation shall finance any increased ocean freight charges incurred in any fiscal year that result from the application of section 55314 of this title.

(b) Reimbursement of Increased Charges.—

(1) In general.—
The Secretary of Transportation shall reimburse the Secretary of Agriculture and the Commodity Credit Corporation for the amount by which, in any fiscal year

(A) the total cost of ocean freight and ocean freight differential for which obligations are incurred by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Corporation on exports of agricultural commodities and their products under the agricultural export programs specified in section 55314 (b) of this title; exceeds

(B) 20 percent of the value of the commodities and their products and the cost of the ocean freight and ocean freight differential on which obligations are incurred by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Corporation during that fiscal year.

(2) Commodities shipped from inventory.—
For purposes of this subsection, commodities shipped from the inventory of the Corporation shall be valued as provided in section 412(d) of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1736f (d)).

(1) Issuance.—
To meet the expenses required to be assumed under subsections (a) and (b), the Secretary of Transportation shall issue obligations to the Secretary of the Treasury. The Secretary of Transportation, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, shall prescribe the form, denomination, maturity, and other terms (except the interest rate) of the obligations. The Secretary of the Treasury shall set the interest rate for the obligations, considering the average market yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States Government of comparable maturities during the month before the obligations are issued.

(2) Purchase.—
The Secretary of the Treasury shall purchase the obligations issued under this subsection. To purchase the obligations, the Secretary of the Treasury may use as a public debt transaction the proceeds from the sale of securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31. The purposes for which securities may be issued under that chapter are extended to include the purchase of obligations under this subsection. A redemption or purchase of the obligations by the Secretary of the Treasury is a public debt transaction of the Government.

(d) Source of Funds for Reimbursement.—
Reimbursement of the Secretary of Transportation for costs incurred under this section shall be made with appropriated funds rather than through cancellation of notes.

(e) Appropriations.—

(1) Authorization.—
Each fiscal year, there is authorized to be appropriated an amount sufficient to reimburse the Secretary of Transportation for the costs incurred under this section, including administrative expenses and the principal and interest due on obligations issued to the Secretary of the Treasury.

(2) Appropriation for administrative expenses.—
Each fiscal year, such amounts as may be necessary are hereby appropriated to pay interest and to liquidate debt on obligations issued to the Secretary of the Treasury under this section.

(f) Notification to Congress of Insufficiency.—
If the Secretary of Transportation is unable to obtain the funds necessary to finance the increased ocean freight charges resulting from the requirements of subsections (a) and (b) and section 55314 (a) of this title, the Secretary shall notify Congress within 10 working days of the discovery of the insufficiency.

46 USC 55317 - Termination of subchapter

This subchapter terminates 90 days after the date on which a notification is made under section 55316 (f) of this title, except for shipments of agricultural commodities and their products subject to contracts made before the end of that 90-day period, unless within that 90-day period the Secretary of Transportation proclaims that funds are available to finance increased freight charges resulting from the requirements of sections 55314 (a) and 55316 (a) and (b) of this title. On the termination of this subchapter under this section

(1) this subchapter does not exempt export activities from, or subject export activities to, the cargo preference laws; and

(2) the 50-percent requirement in section 55305 of this title remains in effect.

46 USC 55318 - Effect on other law

This subchapter does not affect chapter 5 of title 5.

TITLE 46 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER III - AMERICAN GREAT LAKES VESSELS

46 USC 55331 - Definitions

In this subchapter:

(1) American great lakes vessel.—
The term American Great Lakes vessel means a vessel so designated under section 55332 of this title, but only during the period the designation is in effect.

(2) Great lakes.—
The term Great Lakes means Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, the Saint Lawrence River west of Saint Regis, New York, and their connecting and tributary waters.

(3) Great lakes shipping season.—
The term Great Lakes shipping season means the period each year during which the Saint Lawrence Seaway is open for navigation by vessels, as declared by the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.

46 USC 55332 - Designating American Great Lakes vessels

(a) Designations.—
The Secretary of Transportation shall designate a vessel as an American Great Lakes vessel if

(1) an application for designation is submitted to the Secretary under regulations prescribed by the Secretary;

(2) the vessel is documented under the laws of the United States;

(3) the vessel, on the effective date of the designation, is

(A) at least 1, but not more than 6, years old; or

(B) at least 1, but not more than 11, years old if the Secretary finds that suitable vessels are not available to provide the type of service for which the vessel will be used after the designation;

(4) the vessel has not previously been designated as an American Great Lakes vessel; and

(5) the owner makes an agreement as provided under subsection (b).

(b) Agreements.—
A vessel may be designated as an American Great Lakes vessel only if the person that will be the owner of the vessel at the time of the designation makes an agreement with the Secretary providing that if the Secretary determines that the vessel is necessary to the defense of the United States, the United States Government will have an exclusive right, during the 120-day period following the date of a revocation of the designation under section 55335 of this title, to purchase the vessel for a price equal to the greater of

(1) the approximate world market value of the vessel; or

(2) the cost of the vessel to the owner less a reasonable amount for depreciation.

(c) Certain Foreign Documentation and Sale Not Prohibited.—
Notwithstanding any other law, if the Government does not exercise its right of purchase under an agreement under subsection (b), the owner of the vessel is not prohibited from

(1) documenting the vessel under the laws of a foreign country; or

(2) selling the vessel to a person not a citizen of the United States.

(d) Regulations.—
The Secretary shall prescribe regulations establishing requirements for submitting applications under this section.

46 USC 55333 - Exemption from restriction on transporting certain cargo

The 3-year documentation requirement of section 55305 (a) of this title does not apply to a vessel designated as an American Great Lakes vessel during the period of its designation.

46 USC 55334 - Restrictions on operations

(a) Prohibitions.—
Except as provided in subsection (b), an American Great Lakes vessel may not be used to

(1) engage in trade

(A) from a port in the United States that is not located on the Great Lakes; or

(B) between ports in the United States;

(2) transport bulk cargo (as defined in section 40102 of this title) that is subject to section 55305 or 55314 of this title or section 2631 of title 10; or

(3) provide a service (except ocean freight service) as

(A) a contract carrier; or

(B) a common carrier on a fixed advertised schedule offering frequent sailings at regular intervals in the foreign trade of the United States.

(b) Off-Season Exception.—
An American Great Lakes vessel may be used for not more than 90 days during any 12-month period to engage in trade prohibited by subsection (a)(1)(A), except during the Great Lakes shipping season.

46 USC 55335 - Revocations and terminations of designations

(a) Revocations.—
After notice and an opportunity for a hearing, the Secretary of Transportation may revoke a designation of a vessel as an American Great Lakes vessel if the Secretary finds that

(1) the vessel does not meet a requirement for the designation;

(2) the vessel has been operated in violation of this subchapter; or

(3) the owner or operator of the vessel has violated an agreement made under section 55332 (b) of this title.

(b) Terminations.—
On petition and a showing of good cause by the owner of a vessel, the Secretary may terminate the designation of a vessel as an American Great Lakes vessel. The Secretary may impose conditions in a termination order to prevent significant adverse effects on other operators of vessels of the United States.

46 USC 55336 - Civil penalty

After notice and an opportunity for a hearing, the Secretary of Transportation may impose a civil penalty of not more than $1,000,000 on the owner of an American Great Lakes vessel for any act for which the designation may be revoked under section 55335 of this title.