American farmers can't ship food abroad because foreign shippers won't take it

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But many American farmers are dealing with essentially the opposite of that supply chain crisis – they're having a hard time getting their goods out of the country to foreign buyers.

"It's the destruction of millions of dollars in value," Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., told FOX Business Wednesday. He was the chief sponsor of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act that passed the House Wednesday by a 364-60 vote.

Among the provisions in the bill, Johnson said the most important has to do with Asian ocean carriers that "unfairly discriminate against American cargo." He said that they will offload foreign goods in U.S. ports then simply sprint back to Asia so they can bring more goods back to the U.S., rather than taking the time to fill up with American goods to sell abroad.

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he problem exists broadly across the U.S. agriculture industry, particularly in states thar rely on West Coast ports to ship their goods. The president of a California agricultural association told the Associated Press that 80% of shipments abroad were canceled in October. And the contracts that U.S. ag producers are forced to sign tend to encourage that type of behavior from shipping companies, Johnson said.

"Right now we've got five major ocean carriers, they're all foreign flagged, and frankly their interests are not very well aligned with the interests of this country," Johnson said.

"Unfortunately because it's an oligopoly.... you've got to take it or leave it if you're an American ag shipper," he added. "The terms often say that liquidated damages for you canceling a container is $100. Well there can be $100,000 of goods in each container."

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