FMC Establishes Regulatory Reform Task Force

Contact: John K. DeCrosta, (202) 523-5911

Acting Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission Michael A. Khouri today designated the agency’s Managing Director, Karen V. Gregory, to serve as Regulatory Reform Officer.

Ms. Gregory will stand up a Regulatory Reform Task Force that will work to identify burdensome, unnecessary, and outdated directives and recommend how they should be remedied.

“Relief from regulatory requirements that have outlived their usefulness is one of the easiest contributions the Federal Maritime Commission can make to increased efficiencies and creating economic benefits,” said Acting Chairman Khouri. “The positive response from what the Commission ordered recently in terms of creating more realistic filing requirements for service contract amendments demonstrates the benefits that can be achieved from simply asking ‘is there a better way to do this?’”

The designation of a Regulatory Review Officer and establishing a Regulatory Reform Task Force is consistent with the intent of the Executive Order issued by President Donald J. Trump on February 24, 2017, the deregulatory spirit of the Shipping Act of 1984 as amended by the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998, and agency regulatory review initiatives ongoing since November 4, 2011.

The Federal Maritime Commission is responsible for regulating the Nation’s international ocean transportation for the benefit of exporters, importers, and the American consumer. The Commission’s mission is to foster a fair, efficient, and reliable international ocean transportation system while protecting the public from unfair and deceptive practices.