New Maritime Bill Targets Foreign Carriers and Shipping Exchanges, Boosting FMC Budget Through 2029

The Federal Maritime Commission Reauthorization Act of 2025 is essentially an update to the operating system for how the U.S. regulates international ocean shipping. It authorizes nearly $212 million in funding for the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) over the next four years (FY 2026 through FY 2029), starting at $49.2 million in 2026 and increasing annually. Beyond the budget, this bill makes some targeted, high-impact changes to who the FMC regulates and how they enforce fair trade in the global supply chain.

The bill changes the FMC’s stated mission from promoting U.S. ocean commerce to merely supporting the “common carriage of goods by water in the foreign commerce of the United States” (Sec. 4). While that sounds like bureaucratic hair-splitting, it signals a subtle shift: the government is moving away from actively boosting the industry and toward a more focused role of regulatory oversight. This change could mean less proactive development and more reactive policing.

The New Definition of 'Risky' Carriers

One of the biggest real-world shifts happens in Section 5, which significantly expands the definition of an “ocean common carrier” that the FMC can scrutinize. Previously, this was a standard definition, but now it includes any carrier that is legally or financially connected to a corporation based in a country flagged by the U.S. government as a “nonmarket economy country” or a “priority foreign country.” Think of these as countries the U.S. government has already identified as having problematic trade practices or government intervention.

For regular people, this means that the FMC is getting new legal teeth to investigate and potentially regulate foreign shipping lines based on where their parent company is located. If you are an American manufacturer relying on a carrier linked to one of these flagged countries, your shipping costs and logistics might face increased scrutiny or potential disruption as these carriers navigate the new regulatory landscape. This move ties U.S. shipping regulation directly to geopolitical trade policy, which could introduce uncertainty into supply chains.

Cracking Down on Shipping Exchanges

If you’ve ever wondered why shipping costs seem to jump around wildly, part of the answer lies with “shipping exchanges”—the registered groups that coordinate cargo movement. Section 6 gives the FMC brand-new, mandatory authority to investigate these exchanges if anyone submits information alleging market manipulation or unfair competition. The FMC must accept this information and investigate quickly, reporting findings directly to Congress.

This is good news for shippers—the farmers, retailers, and manufacturers who rely on predictable costs. It aims to prevent the kind of price gouging or artificial spikes that have plagued the industry and ultimately raise the cost of everything from electronics to clothes. The bill also accelerates the deadline for creating the official shipping exchange registry, moving it up to two years after the bill passes (Sec. 7), signaling urgency in bringing transparency to these markets.

Less Paperwork, More Advisory Committees

The bill also includes some welcome administrative streamlining. Section 9 ensures that the FMC can’t ask businesses for data they’ve already submitted to other federal agencies, like Customs and Border Protection or the Army Corps of Engineers. For the logistics manager or small business owner, this means less time spent filling out duplicate government forms and more time moving goods.

Finally, the bill creates two new advisory committees: the National Port Advisory Committee (for marine terminal operators and port authorities) and the National Ocean Carrier Advisory Committee (Sec. 11). These groups will advise the FMC on making the global freight system more competitive and reliable. This means the people actually running the ports and the ships will have a direct, formal line to the regulators, which should, in theory, lead to more practical and informed rules.