The World Shipping Council says that H.R. 6167, the proposed Shipping Act of 2010, would "make the vessel sharing agreements that underlie most services to and from the United States today virtually impossible to continue to operate."

The council also says the law would create for the Federal Maritime Commission "a far more intrusive regulatory role with respect to what are today market-based commercial business-to-business relationships between shippers and carriers.

"The cumulative effect of enacting H.R. 6167 would be to destabilize the industry at a time when the U.S. economy requires the continued investment in liner shipping assets, supported by a predictable and efficient regulatory regime."

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