A bill to amend the Merchant Marine Act to extend the Great Lakes Set Aside for the duration of the increase in the cargo preference.
Key claim: This Senate bill would permanently require the Transportation Department to preserve Great Lakes ports’ 1984 share of U.S. food-aid shipments of bagged, processed, or fortified farm commodities, instead of letting that set-aside lapse.
Abstract
(S2333 · 100th Congress) Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to extend indefinitely, with regard to certain cargo preference provisions, the requirement that the Secretary of Transportation take steps to preserve the percentage share, or metric tonnage of bagged, processed, or fortified commodities experienced in calendar year 1984, of waterborne cargoes exported from Great Lakes ports pursuant to specified provisions of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954. Latest action (1988-04-28): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce.
Why this matters
Cargo preference rules determine which U.S.-flag carriers and which ports get guaranteed slices of federally financed agricultural exports, shaping shipping costs for food-aid programs and revenue for regional port economies. The Great Lakes Set Aside is a niche but durable carve-out that channels a portion of bagged/processed/fortified commodity shipments through Great Lakes ports; whether it lapses or is locked in affects the competitive balance between Gulf/Atlantic and Great Lakes shipping routes for USDA-financed cargoes.