§13541 Authority to Exempt Transportation or Services

Summary

The Secretary or the Board can exempt a person, a group of people, or a specific transaction or service from parts of this law, or change how a part applies to them, if three things are true: the rule is not needed to carry out the transportation policy in section 13101; it is not needed to protect shippers from abuse of market power or the transaction or service is small in scope; and the exemption is in the public interest. The Secretary or Board can start the exemption process on their own or when someone asks. They can set how long the exemption lasts and can cancel it later if the rule becomes necessary to carry out section 13101. The exemption cannot be used to avoid laws or rules about cargo loss and damage, insurance, safety fitness, or activities approved under sections 13703 or 14302 or not ended under section 13907(d)(2). The Secretary or Board may not exempt a water carrier from sections 13701 or 13702 for transportation in the non-contiguous domestic trade. They also must not regulate water carrier transportation of any cargo or type of cargo in the non-contiguous domestic trade that was not regulated by the Federal Maritime Commission or Interstate Commerce Commission on November 1, 1995.