SIMIC

US lawmakers want to build off last year's regulatory overhaul, including more restrictions on carriers, reports New York's FreightWaves.
US South Dakota Republican Congressman Dusty Johnson confirmed that curbing China's ability to exploit proprietary cargo shipping data would be included in ther new ocean shipping reforms he and California Democratic Congressman John Garamendi, want to introduce as a part of a supply chain legislative package.
"We've given China too much control over global supply chains, and I think we need to be focused on resolving that issue," said Mr Johnson.
"And a number of the provisions we're including in an updated Ocean Shipping Reform Act really make sense when you view China as an adversary, particularly the Chinese Communist Party."
In addition to addressing data security concerns for companies using the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, Mr Johnson wants to disincentivise companies from using the National Transportation and Logistics Public Information Platform, called LOGINK.
China's government is encouraging ports, ocean carriers, and freight forwarders to adopt LOGINK by providing it free.
"China's state-funded effort to obtain first mover advantage could enable LOGINK to shape how the market evolves, setting the rules of the road in a way that favours Chinese firms and otherwise advances China's interests," said according to an issue brief from the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
"It could also give China's government access to sensitive data, including commercial transport of US military cargo, insight into supply chain vulnerabilities, and critical market information," the issue brief warns. "All this could help Chinese firms compete on unequal footing in the nearly US$1 trillion third-party logistics industry, in particularly the freight forwarding services market estimated at just under $200 billion."