LIST OF PRESENTLY EFFECTIVE INTER-CONFERENCE AGREEMENTS 12 The Trans-Atlantic Associated Freight Conferences Agreement Established June 1, 1904 Approved June 26, 1923, by U. S. Shipping Board C. R. Andrews, Chairman, 80 Broad Street, New York 4, N.Y. 13 Trans-Atlantic Freight Conference (New York) Agreement Established February 11, 1919 Approved July 28, 1925, by U. S. Shipping Board C. R. Andrews, Chairman, 80 Broad Street, New York 4, New York 59 River Plate and Brazil Conferences Established July 19, 1923 Approved August 21, 1923, by U. S. Shipping Board George F. Foley, Chairman, 17 Battery Place, New York 4, N.T. 189 Gulf Associated Freight Conferences Established October 15, 1932 Approved October 26, 1932 by U.S. Shipping Board H. A. Carlys, Chairman and Executive Secretary Members of Gulf Mediterranean Ports Conference (No. 134) Members of Gulf/United Kingdom Conference No. 161 1457 Agreement with respect to maintenance of rates of North Atlantic Established October 15, 1930 Spanish Conference Approved March 9, 1932 by U. S. Shipping Board Membership: Members of the North Atlantic Spanish Conference (No. 138) 2723 Gulf/U. K. & Continental Joint Contract Agreement Established December 1933 Approved February 14, 1934 by U. S. Shipping Board Bureau H. A. Carlys, Executive Secretary 1109-12 Whitney Building, New Orleans 12, La. Membership: Gulf/French Atlantic Hamburg Range Freight Conference (140-1) 4292 Shanghai/Atlantic & Gulf Joint Agreement (Inactive) Established January 1, 1935 Approved May 11, 1935 by U. S. Shipping Board Bureau Membership: Members of New York Freight Bureau (Shanshai) (5800) Members of Trans-Pacific Freight Conference of North China (85) 4379 Hongkong/North Atlantic and Gulf Joint Agreement Approved October 29, 1935 by U. S. Shipping Board Bureau Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co., Alexandra House, Hong Kong, China Members of Trans-Pacific Freight Conference (Hong Kong) (14−1) 5080 Agreement with respect to consignees' freighting agreements covering cargo moving from U. S. Atlantic and Gulf ports to Cuba. Established April 1, 1936 Approved April 9, 1936 by U. S. Shipping Board Bureau A. J. Pasch, Chairman, 11 Broadway, New York 4, N. Y. (189) Fred D. Hill, Chairman, 321 St. Charles Street, New Orleans, La. (188) Members of Gulf and South Atlantic Havana Steamship Conference (4188) 6410 Agreement between Pacific Lumber Carriers' Association (6310) and Pacific U. S. Pacific Coast ports and between California ports and British Columbia. Approved August 4, 1938 by U. S. Maritime Commission c/o Coastwise Line, 315 California Street, San Francisco 4, Calif. (6310) Shipping Act, 1916. 3. 504-4 7920 Agreement between the Members of the Continental North Atlantic Westbound Freight Conference (8210) and the members of the French North Atlantic Westbound Freight Conference (7810) Established December 20, 1946 Approved July 1, 1947 by U. S. Maritime Commission Membership: 7810 and 8210 7960 Agreement between the member lines of the Swiss/North Atlantic Freight Conference (7860) and Marseilles/North Atlantic U.S.A. Conference (5660) Established March 31, 1948 Approved April 27, 1948 by U. S. Maritime Commission Swiss/North Atlantic Freight Conference M. Lambert, Secretary 12 Rue des Pierrelais, Chatillon-sous Bagneux (Seine) Paris, France 8020 Agreement between members of Continental North Atlantic Westbound Freight Conference (8210) French North Atlantic Westbound Freight Conference (7810) Marseilles/North Atlantic U.S.A. Freight Conference (5660) West Coast of Itlay, Sicilian & Adriatic Ports North Atlantic Range Conference (2846) Established July 1948 Approved November 1, 1948 by U. S. Maritime Commission M. Lambert, Secretary, 12 Rue des Pierrelais, Chatillon-sous Membership: 8210, 7810, 5660, 2846 8200 Agreement between members of Pacific Westbound Conference (57) and Far East Conference (17) Established November 5, 1952 Approved December 29, 1952 by Federal Maritime Board The CHAIRMAN. This will conclude the hearings for this morning. The committee will resume its consideration of the witnesses' testimony and other matters before it at 2 o'clock. (Whereupon, at 12:30 p.m., a recess was taken until 2 p.m. of the same day.) AFTERNOON SESSION The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. We will finish with the testimony of Chairman Morse and his colleagues this afternoon, and after that we will resume our hearings next Tuesday, October 20, at 9:30, when we shall hear from the following witnesses who will be sworn: William B. Rand, vice president, United States Lines; Donald F. Wierda, general freight traffic manager, United States Lines; Samuel H. Richter, traffic manager, American Pioneer Line, United States Lines. Mr. Meader? Mr. MEADER. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Morse, I would like following my opening statement, to start out with a little perspective of the ocean shipping industry with respect to rates. I wonder if you won't briefly describe the peculiarities of the shipping industry? I have in mind particularly that it deals with international operations and competition between American-flag vessels and foreign vessels. And the extent to which the United States may unilaterally regulate that industry because of the fact that it is an international competitive industry. Mr. MORSE. Well, as you have indicated, it is international in scope. Many steamship lines-not all of them, but many of them-are large companies that operate to various areas of the world, predominantly foreign-flag lines in the trade to and from the United States. But they all have not only the American-flag but the foreign-flag lineshave the problem of satisfying not only the laws of the United States when a shipment is made to or from the United States, but also the laws of the area of origin or destination in a foreign country. We have experienced, for example, under the 1936 act, problems with other countries of what we call actions of a discriminatory nature made applicable to American-flag lines in carrying cargoes to and from-to or from a foreign area-discriminations which are made. justifiably for their purposes to favor or support the flag of the particular country. Now, the whole thing in the regulatory field is just another facet of this problem of discrimination which any country could impose against ships trading to or from that country. If we put on here, at this end, actions-regulatory actions-which we deem fit and proper, the country at the other end may consider that to be a discriminatory action, and they could impose similar or more severe actions of a discriminatory nature at the other end. Specifically, if we attempted to fix the level of rates that could be charged, there is nothing of which I am aware that would prevent the foreign country at the other end from saying, "We do not approve that level of rates, we insist that the rate level be higher or lower or there be complete absence of control of the level of rates." Furthermore, we have international treaties which may affect the extent of the regulation which we could impose legally in this country. Mr. MEADER. Has there been any movement toward creating an international body to police the shipping industry, or to what extent in bilateral or multilateral treaties have we attempted on a Government basis to regulate the shipping industry? Mr. MORSE. There are none as far as I know attempting to control or regulate the rate level. It has always been handled to date on the basis of free competition. There is competition-talking about exports from the United States--there is competition from other areas of the world for the same-to the same consuming area on our exports-machinery, for example, from Germany or England. The rates quoted from those areas would obviously have a competitive effect on the rates, ocean rates, which could be quoted from the U.S. area. Furthermore, the rates quoted by tramps have a very direct effect upon the rate levels of the liner, in the liner trades. So, fundamentally, while we say that the conferences are free to fix their own rates, and that they are combinations which are free to fix their own rates, they have very direct and strong competition, not only from tramps, but from the nonconference operators, and also from the rates from other producers, producing, or consuming areas. Mr. MEADER. Is there anything that approaches the International Civil Aviation Organization in the shipping industry? Mr. MORSE. Nothing of that character. Mr. MEADER. And so far as you know, no particular movement toward the establishment of some international agency to supervise the shipping industry? Mr. MORSE. I am not aware of any movement in that area. Mr. MEADER. Now, let me ask you-following the investigation of shipping rings by the British and the Alexander committee by our Government, what, if any, actions were taken by other countries with respect to the supervision or regulation of the shipping industry similar to our 1916 Shipping Act? Mr. MORSE. With the exception of Japan, which adopted regulations patterned on the 1916 act after World War II, I believe that none of the other countries begin to have any legislation which purports to control or regulate the level of rates in commerce of those foreign countries. Mr. Ben Guill is here. He is a member of the Board. He has just recently returned from a trip to Europe, accompanying members of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee that were delving into this specific question in recent weeks. And he could comment on what he has found in his recent trip. Mr. GUILL. Mr. Meader, and Mr. Chairman, it is most interesting to note that the various countries have begun to follow our lines of antitrust laws, even though not quite as stringent. But, England, while not having an antitrust law-we found that Germany had voted one since 1955; so had Holland; so had Denmark. But, in each instance, with the exception of Holland, they had specifically exempted the steamship industry, or the conferences, or ocean transportation from antitrust laws. In Holland, they did it by administrative action. Now, Mr. Bonner will have a report from this, his trip, and, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Meader, I think it would be very interesting to get a report, if you would like, and incorporate that in this record, if you want to. |