American Cargo for American Ships Act

The American Cargo for American Ships Act would tighten and expand a domestic-preference rule for cargo funded or procured by the Department of Transportation. It requires that 100 percent of the gross tonnage of equipment, materials, or commodities procured, financed, or furnished by DOT be transported on privately-owned U.S.-flag commercial vessels, to the extent such vessels are available at fair and reasonable rates. The requirement is to be applied separately for dry bulk carriers, dry cargo liners, and tankers, and must be implemented in a way that ensures fair and reasonable participation of U.S. commercial vessels across geographic areas. The act updates 46 U.S.C. 55305 and modifies the statutory structure to implement this rule, while preserving the overall logic of cargo preference for government-funded shipments. In short, the bill would effectivelyMandate that DOT-funded shipments ride on U.S.-private, non-government-owned ships whenever possible, with a geographic-distribution safeguard and a rate-availability limit that allows for non-U.S. carriers only if no suitable U.S. private ships are available at fair rates.