Protecting Access to American Products Act

Bill Summary: Protecting Access to American Products Act (S. 4090)

Bill Number: S. 4090

Session: 119th Congress

Sponsor: Senator Mike Lee

Status: Introduced (Referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation)

Overview

The Protecting Access to American Products Act aims to ensure that American goods can be transported domestically even when there is a shortage of qualified U.S. shipping vessels. The bill establishes a formal process for the government to temporarily waive "coastwise endorsement" requirements—essentially allowing non-compliant or foreign vessels to transport certain goods if no appropriate American "product carrier" is available.

Key Provisions

1. Waiver Criteria

The head of the relevant agency (responsible for navigation or vessel inspection laws) must grant a temporary waiver if a requester can reasonably demonstrate two things:
* Scarcity: No available product carrier (a vessel specifically designed to carry a specific good in bulk) exists that meets current coastwise requirements.
* Due Diligence: The requester made a good faith effort to find a qualified carrier before applying for the waiver.

2. Timeline and Duration

• Initial Waiver: Must be limited in duration and cannot expire in less than 30 days.
• Extensions: If circumstances have not changed, the agency must grant extensions for periods of at least 15 days each.
• Response Deadline: The agency must approve or deny a request within 60 days.
• Automatic Approval: If the agency fails to respond within 60 days, the request is deemed granted for a period of 30 days.
• Denied Requests: If a waiver is denied, the agency must provide a report explaining the findings behind the denial within 14 days.

3. Oversight and Transparency

To ensure accountability, the head of the agency is required to notify Congress within 48 hours of:
1. Receiving a request for a waiver.
2. Issuing a waiver (including a detailed explanation of why the waiver was necessary).

Who is Affected?

• Shippers and Producers: Businesses transporting bulk American products who struggle to find available U.S.-flagged vessels.
• Maritime Agencies: The government bodies responsible for enforcing vessel inspection and navigation laws.
• The Shipping Industry: Potentially opens the door for non-endorsed vessels to operate in domestic routes during times of scarcity.

Summary Table: Procedural Deadlines