SEC. 3. [46 App. U.S.C. 1702] DEFINITIONS.

As used in this Act

(1) "agreement" means an understanding, arrangement, or association (written or oral) and any modification or cancellation thereof; but the term does not include a maritime labor agreement.

(2) "antitrust laws" means the Act of July 2, 1890 (ch. 647, 26 Stat. 209), as amended; the Act of October 15, 1914 (ch. 323, 38 Stat. 730), as amended; the Federal Trade Commission Act (38 Stat. 717), as amended; sections 73 and 74 of the Act of August 27, 1894 (28 Stat. 570), as amended; the Act of June 19, 1936 (ch. 592, 49 Stat. 1526), as amended; the Antitrust Civil Process Act (76 Stat. 548), as amended; and amendments and Acts supplementary thereto.

(3) "assessment agreement" means an agreement, whether part of a collective-bargaining agreement or negotiated separately, to the extent that it provides for the funding of collectively bargained fringe benefit obligations on other than a uniform man-hour basis, regardless of the cargo handled or type of vessel or equipment utilized.

(4) "bulk cargo" means cargo that is loaded and carried in bulk without mark or count.

(5) "Commission" means the Federal Maritime Commission.

(6) "common carrier" means a person holding itself out to the general public to provide transportation by water of passengers or cargo between the United States and a foreign country for compensation that

(A) assumes responsibility for the transportation from the port or point of receipt to the port or point of destination, and

(B) utilizes, for all or part of that transportation, a vessel operating on the high seas or the Great Lakes between a port in the United States and a port in a foreign country, except that the term does not include a common carrier engaged in ocean transportation by ferry boat, ocean tramp, or chemical parcel-tanker or by vessel when primarily engaged in the carriage of perishable agricultural commodities (i) if the common carrier and the owner of those commodities are wholly-owned, directly or indirectly, by a person primarily engaged in the marketing and distribution of those commodities and (ii) only with respect to the carriage of those commodities. As used in this paragraph, "chemical parcel-tanker" means a vessel whose cargo-carrying capability consists of individual cargo tanks for bulk chemicals that are a permanent part of the vessel, that have segregation capability with piping systems to permit simultaneous carriage of several bulk chemical cargoes with minimum risk of cross-contamination, and that has a valid certificate of fitness under the International Maritime Organization Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk.

(7) "conference" means an association of ocean common carriers permitted, pursuant to an approved or effective agreement, to engage in concerted activity and to utilize a common tariff; but the term does not include a joint service, consortium, pooling, sailing, or transshipment arrangement.

(8) "controlled carrier" means an ocean common carrier that is, or whose operating assets are, directly or indirectly, owned or controlled by a government; ownership or control by a government shall be deemed to exist with respect to any carrier if—

(A) a majority portion of the interest in the carrier is owned or controlled in any manner by that government, by any agency thereof, or by any public or private person controlled by that government; or

(B) that government has the right to appoint or disapprove the appointment of a majority of the directors, the chief operating officer, or the chief executive officer of the carrier.

(9) "deferred rebate" means a return by a common carrier of any portion of freight money to a shipper as a consideration for that shipper giving all, or any portion, of its shipments to that or any other common carrier over a fixed period of time, the payment of which is deferred beyond the completion of service for which it is paid, and is made only if the shipper has agreed to make a further shipment or shipments with that or any other common carrier.

(10) "forest products" means forest products including, but not limited to lumber in bundles, rough timber, ties, poles, piling, laminated beams, bundled siding, bundled plywood, bundled core stock or veneers, bundled particle or fiber boards, bundled hardwood, wood pulp in rolls, wood pulp in unitized bales, paper and paper board in rolls or in pallet or skid-sized sheets.

(11) "inland division" means the amount paid by a common carrier to an inland carrier for the inland portion of through transportation offered to the public by the common carrier.

(12) "inland portion" means the charge to the public by a common carrier for the nonoceans portion of through transportation.

(13) "loyalty contract" means a contract with an ocean common carrier or agreement by which a shipper obtains lower rates by committing all or a fixed portion of its cargo to that carrier or agreement and the contract provides for a deferred rebate arrangement.

(14) "marine terminal operator" means a person engaged in the United States in the business of furnishing wharfage, dock, warehouse, or other terminal facilities in connection with a common carrier, or in connection with a common carrier and a water carrier subject to subchapter II of chapter 135 of title 49, United States Code.

(15) "maritime labor agreement" means a collective-bargaining agreement between an employer subject to this Act, or group of such employers, and a labor organization representing employees in the maritime or stevedoring industry, or an

agreement preparatory to such a collective-bargaining agreement among members of a multiemployer bargaining group, or an agreement specifically implementing provisions of such a collective-bargaining agreement or providing for the formation, financing, or administration of a multiemployer bargaining group; but the term does not include an assessment agreement. (16) "ocean common carrier” means a vessel-operating common carrier.

(17) "ocean transportation intermediary" means an ocean freight forwarder or a non-vessel-operating common carrier. For purposes of this paragraph, the term

(A) "ocean freight forwarder" means a person that—

(i) in the United States, dispatches shipments from the United States via a common carrier and books or otherwise arranges space for those shipments on behalf of shippers; and

(ii) processes the documentation or performs related activities incident to those shipments; and

(B) "non-vessel-operating common carrier" means a common carrier that does not operate the vessels by which the ocean transportation is provided, and is a shipper in its relationship with an ocean common carrier.

(18) "person" includes individuals, corporations, partnerships, and associations existing under or authorized by the laws of the United States or of a foreign country.

(19) "service contract" means a written contract, other than a bill of lading or a receipt, between one or more shippers and an individual ocean common carrier or an agreement between or among ocean common carriers in which the shipper or shippers makes a commitment to provide a certain volume or portion of cargo over a fixed time period, and the ocean common carrier or the agreement commits to a certain rate or rate schedule and a defined service level, such as assured space, transit time, port rotation, or similar service features. The contract may also specify provisions in the event of nonperformance on the part of any party.

(20) "shipment" means all of the cargo carried under the terms of a single bill of lading.

(21) "shipper" means—

(A) a cargo owner;

(B) the person for whose account the ocean transportation is provided;

(C) the person to whom delivery is to be made;

(D) a shippers' association; or

(E) an ocean transportation intermediary, as defined in paragraph (17)(B) of this section, that accepts responsibility for payment of all charges applicable under the tariff or service contract.

(22) "shippers' association" means a group of shippers that consolidates or distributes freight on a nonprofit basis for the members of the group in order to secure carload, truckload, or other volume rates or service contracts.

(23) "through rate" means the single amount charged by a common carrier in connection with through transportation.

(24) "through transportation" means continuous transportation between origin and destination for which a through rate is assessed and which is offered or performed by one or more carriers, at least one of which is a common carrier, between a United States point or port and a foreign point or port.

(25) "United States" includes the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, and all other United States territories and possessions.

SEC. 4. [46 App. U.S.C. 1703] AGREEMENTS WITHIN SCOPE OF ACT. (a) OCEAN COMMON CARRIERS.-This Act applies to agreements by or among ocean common carriers to—

(1) discuss, fix, or regulate transportation rates, including through rates, cargo space accommodations, and other conditions of service;

(2) pool or apportion traffic, revenues, earnings, or losses; (3) allot ports or restrict or otherwise regulate the number and character of sailings between ports;

(4) limit or regulate the volume or character of cargo or passenger traffic to be carried;

(5) engage in exclusive, preferential, or cooperative working arrangements among themselves or with one or more marine terminal operators;

(6) control, regulate, or prevent competition in international ocean transportation; or

(7) discuss and agree on any matter related to service contracts.

(b) MARINE TERMINAL OPERATORS.-This Act applies to agreements among marine terminal operators and among one or more marine terminal operators and one or more ocean common carriers to

(1) discuss, fix, or regulate rates or other conditions of service; or

(2) engage in exclusive, preferential, or cooperative working arrangements, to the extent that such agreements involve ocean transportation in the foreign commerce of the United States.

(a) ACQUISITIONS.-This Act does not apply to an acquisition by any person, directly or indirectly, of any voting security or assets of any other person.

SEC. 5. [46 App. U.S.C. 1704] AGREEMENTS.

(a) FILING REQUIREMENTS.-A true copy of every agreement entered into with respect to an activity described in section 4 (a) or (b) of this Act shall be filed with the Commission, except agreements related to transportation to be performed within or between foreign countries and agreements among common carriers to establish, operate, or maintain a marine terminal in the United States. In the case of an oral agreement, a complete memorandum specifying in detail the substance of the agreement shall be filed. The Commission may by regulation prescribe the form and manner in which an agreement shall be filed and the additional information and documents necessary to evaluate the agreement.

(b) CONFERENCE AGREEMENTS.-Each conference agreement must

(1) state its purpose;

(2) provide reasonable and equal terms and conditions for admission and readmission to conference membership for any ocean common carrier willing to serve the particular trade or route;

(3) permit any member to withdraw from conference membership upon reasonable notice without penalty;

(4) at the request of any member, require an independent neutral body to police fully the obligations of the conference and its members;

(5) prohibit the conference from engaging in conduct prohibited by section 10(c) (1) or (3) of this Act;

(6) provide for a consultation process designed to promote

(A) commercial resolution of disputes, and

(B) cooperation with shippers in preventing and eliminating malpractices;

(7) establish procedures for promptly and fairly considering shippers' requests and complaints; and

(8) provide that any member of the conference may take independent action on any rate or service item upon not more than 5 calendar days' notice to the conference and that, except for exempt commodities not published in the conference tariff, the conference will include the new rate or service item in its tariff for use by that member, effective no later than 5 calendar days after receipt of the notice, and by any other member that notifies the conference that it elects to adopt the independent rate or service item on or after its effective date, in lieu of the existing conference tariff provision for that rate or service item;

(c) OCEAN COMMON CARRIER AGREEMENTS.-An ocean common carrier agreement may not

(1) prohibit or restrict a member or members of the agreement from engaging in negotiations for service contracts with 1 or more shippers;

(2) require a member or members of the agreement to disclose a negotiation on a service contract, or the terms and conditions of a service contract, other than those terms or conditions required to be published under section 8(c)(3) of this Act;

or

(3) adopt mandatory rules or requirements affecting the right of an agreement member or agreement members to negotiate and enter into service contracts.

An agreement may provide authority to adopt voluntary guidelines relating to the terms and procedures of an agreement member's or agreement members' service contracts if the guidelines explicitly state the right of members of the agreement not to follow the guidelines. These guidelines shall be confidentially submitted to the Commission.

(d) INTERCONFERENCE AGREEMENTS.-Each agreement between carriers not members of the same conference must provide the right of independent action for each carrier. Each agreement be