Federal Maritime Commission Reauthorization Act of 2025

Authorization of appropriations reduced from 4 fiscal years (FY2026-FY2029) with escalating amounts ($49.2M to $57M) to 2 fiscal years (FY2026-FY2027) with flat funding at $49.2M per year.

The definition of controlled carrier was broadened: 'based in a country' was changed to 'based in, headquartered in, or otherwise significantly linked to a country,' potentially capturing more foreign-linked carriers.

The reference to priority foreign countries was narrowed from 'identified by the USTR in the most recent report required by section 182' to specifically 'identified by the USTR on the priority watch list included in the most recent report,' limiting it to the formal watch list rather than the broader report.

The shipping exchange registry deadline was changed from 3 years after enactment of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 to 2 years after enactment of this Act (the FMC Reauthorization Act of 2025).

The containerized freight index rulemaking requirement was shifted from requiring an advance notice on 'price indexes for containerized ocean freight' to one on 'the manner in which data is acquired, used, and protected in developing price indexes,' refocusing the rulemaking on data governance rather than the indexes themselves.

A conforming amendment was added in Section 11(c)(2) to update references in subsection (f) of section 42506 from 'the Committee' to 'a covered Committee,' and subsequent lettered items were relettered accordingly.