Jeff Vogel, a member in the firm's Transportation & Trade Group, published "10 Years Of Inaction On US-Flag Cargo Preference" for Law360. This October marks 10 years since the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 was signed into law. Section 3511 of the 2009 NDAA granted the U.S. Maritime Administration, or MARAD, increased authority to regulate and enforce the requirements of the Cargo Preference Act of 1954. The CPA requires at least 50 percent of civilian government-impelled cargoes to be carried on U.S.-flag vessels. In the intervening 10 years, however, MARAD has been unsuccessful in promulgating these congressionally granted authorities, leaving U.S.-flag carriers and government agency shippers in a constant state of confusion, while preference cargoes continue to dwindle.
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