Cosmetic and personal care trade bodies in the US have welcomed a revision to maritime law which is anticipated to ease inflation.
The Ocean Shipping Reform Act, S.3580 (OSRA), signed yesterday by US President Joe Biden, addresses high detention and demurrage (late fees) charged by ocean carriers and terminals.
These charges are passed onto consumers, contributing to inflation.
The first major revision of US maritime legislation since the last amendment of The Shipping Act more than 20 years ago, it was prompted by the pandemic-led surge in US imports, which has overwhelmed the capacity of US ports and infrastructure.
The trade association representing fragrance manufacturing in North America, the Fragrance Creators Association, believes it will mitigate the “ripple effect down the value chain” of delays in fragrance supply.
“We echo President Biden’s sentiments that this bill is a piece of a puzzle for addressing rising costs and inflation in the US and were pleased to see his quick signature on the bill, making it law,” said Farah K Ahmed, President & CEO of Fragrance Creators Association.
“As an original endorser of the legislation, along with our allied trades, we are pleased to play an active role in advancing this important legislation designed to address shipping supply chain challenges that ultimately impact consumers in the form of increased prices and empty shelves.
“Fragrance is a critical input into myriad of finished products, including personal care, cleaning and disinfecting, and delay in fragrance supply has a ripple effect down the value chain.
“This is why Fragrance Creators is fully committed to supporting supplier diversity, a strong, adaptable and resilient supply chain, and legislation, such as OSRA.”
She added that the industry had significantly changed since the last amendment and “because of that, we are facing longstanding, systemic supply chain and port disruption and congestion issues”.
“OSRA helps to address both the longstanding issues as well as those exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic by strengthening the role of the Federal Maritime Commission to address practices like unreasonable demurrage and other charges, to fight other unreasonable business practices.”
