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Title 46 — ShippingRelease 119-73

§58108 Charges for transportation subject to subtitle IV of title 49

Title 46 › Subtitle Subtitle V— - Merchant Marine › Part Part G— - Restrictions and Penalties › Chapter CHAPTER 581— - RESTRICTIONS AND PENALTIES › § 58108

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Carriers may not give lower charges for moving people or goods that are based on the fact they go to or come from a port in a U.S. territory, possession, or a foreign country by ship in foreign trade, than they charge for the same trip entirely inside the United States, unless the ship is documented under U.S. law. If the Secretary of Transportation says U.S.-documented ships aren’t providing enough service to those ports, the Secretary tells the Surface Transportation Board, and the Board can temporarily stop that rule for rail rates to or from those ports. When the Secretary later certifies that adequate U.S.-documented service exists, the Board can end the suspension.

Full Legal Text

Title 46, §58108

Shipping — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)A carrier may not charge, collect, or receive for transportation subject to subtitle IV of title 49 of persons or property, under any joint rate, fare, or charge, or under any export, import, or other proportional rate, fare, or charge, that is based in whole or in part on the fact that the persons or property affected are to be transported to, or have been transported from, a port in a territory or possession of the United States or in a foreign country, by a carrier by water in foreign commerce, any lower rate, fare, or charge than the carrier charges, collects, or receives for the transportation of persons or similar property for the same distance, in the same direction, and over the same route, in commerce wholly within the United States, unless the vessel used for the transportation is or was at the time of the transportation documented under the laws of the United States.
(b)Whenever the Secretary of Transportation believes that adequate shipping facilities to or from any port in a territory or possession of the United States or a foreign country are not being provided by vessels documented under the laws of the United States, the Secretary shall certify this fact to the Surface Transportation Board. On receiving the certification, the Board may by order suspend the operation of subsection (a) with respect to the rates, fares, and charges for the transportation by rail of persons and property transported from or to be transported to those ports, for such time and under such terms and conditions as the Secretary may specify in the order or in any supplemental order.
(c)Whenever the Secretary believes that adequate shipping facilities are being provided to those ports by vessels documented under the laws of the United States, and certifies that fact to the Board, the Board may order the termination of the suspension.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 5810846 App.:884.June 5, 1920, ch. 250, § 28, 41 Stat. 999; Ex. Ord. No. 6166, § 12, eff. June 10, 1933; June 29, 1936, ch. 858, §§ 204, 904, 49 Stat. 1987, 2016; Pub. L. 97–31, § 12(50), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat. 157; Pub. L. 104–88, title III, § 321(3), Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 950. The words “territory or possession” are substituted for “possession or dependency” for consistency in the revised title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

46 U.S.C. § 58108

Title 46 — Shipping

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73