West Coast Ports

On Tuesday, Central Washington’s Dan Newhouse introduced legislation he said would close a loophole exploited by foreign shippers who circumvent United States seaports and divert cargo to Canada and Mexico to avoid paying the U.S. harbor maintenance tax (HMT).  The...

A large coalition of agriculture and business groups asked President Biden to intervene in the west coast port labor negotiations.  In a letter signed by the groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, they say, “It is imperative that the administration work with the parties to quickly reach a new agreement and ensure there is no disruption to port operations."   The c...

In today's Focus On Fruit, we asked Jeff Correa with Pear Bureau Northwest how slowdowns at west coast ports have impacted the pear industry, and what he anticipates into the future.   Pacific Northwest Ag Network: Focus On Fruit: 09/08/22 on Apple Podcasts   If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@to...

Key industry groups say the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, recently signed into law by President Biden, hasn’t fixed West Coast shipping problems for U.S. dairy exports.  The National Milk Producers Federation and U.S. Dairy Export Council trade manager Tony Rice says the Act was supposed to end abuses by ocean carriers. “But u...

Things continue to run slowly at U.S. ports, especially on the outbound side. A big reason is a business arrangement called the Box Rule. Ray Bowman is an international trade consultant and Program Chair for the District Export Council of Southern California: "What that box rule is, is to drop off a container, you have to have a chassis, so those are the wheels on the bottom that you load t

The congestion continues at U.S. ports, making it hard for agricultural commodities to get shipped to overseas customers. Ray Bowman, international trade consultant and chair the District Export Council of Southern California, said the logjam at American ports didn’t happen overnight. “ ...

A coalition of agriculture groups is asking the Senate to consider shipping reforms. Specifically, the group hopes the Senate will consider the House-passed Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021, or similar legislation. Senators Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, and John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, are drafting a bill to address unreasonable ocean carrier practices ...

In today's Focus On Fruit, Mark Powers with the Northwest Horticultural Council talks about the impact the west coast port slowdown is having on the tree fruit industry in the Pacific Northwest.

According to one American Farm Bureau economist, the surging Omicron COVID variant poses a big unknown for January’s agricultural economy and other sectors. Omicron is forcing new business and school closures, thousands of airline cancellations, renewed mask and vaccine mandates, and new worries among farmers of input delays. ...

After already struggling with drought, California farmers have lost big overseas sales numbers because of a serious shortage of shipping containers brought on by COVID-19. A study from the University of California-Davis says the state’s farm belt lost $2.1 bil ...