H.R. 4839

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4839 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4839

To allow the Secretary of Transportation to authorize vessels 
documented in allied foreign countries, owned by nationals of allied 
foreign countries, or crewed by allied foreign countries to engage in 
certain coastwise trade, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

August 1, 2025

Mr. Case (for himself and Mr. Moylan) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To allow the Secretary of Transportation to authorize vessels 
documented in allied foreign countries, owned by nationals of allied 
foreign countries, or crewed by allied foreign countries to engage in 
certain coastwise trade, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Merchant Marine Allies Partnership 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PARTICIPATION IN COASTWISE TRADE OF CITIZENS AND VESSELS OF 
ALLIED FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

(a) Endorsement Eligibility for Vessels Built in Foreign Allied 
Countries.--Section 12112(a)(2)(B) of title 46, United States Code, is 
amended--
(1) in clause (ii) by striking ``; or'' and inserting a 
semicolon;
(2) in clause (iii) by striking ``; and'' and inserting ``; 
or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new clause:
``(iv) was built in a country listed on the Foreign 
Ally Shipping Registry under section 55124(d) as of the 
date of issuance of the coastwise endorsement; and''.
(b) Loss of Coastwise Trade Privileges.--Section 12132 of title 46, 
United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (b) by striking ``outside the United 
States'' and inserting ``in a country other than the United 
States that is not listed on the Foreign Ally Shipping Registry 
under section 55124(d)''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(c) Built or Rebuilt in Country Removed From Foreign Ally 
Shipping Registry.--Except as otherwise provided in law, a vessel built 
or rebuilt in a country other than the United States that is eligible 
to engage in coastwise trade may not engage in coastwise trade for any 
period during which such country is not listed on the Foreign Ally 
Shipping Registry, beginning on the effective date of the removal of 
such country from the Registry.''.
(c) Treatment of Foreign Allied Countries.--Chapter 551 of title 
46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new section:
``Sec. 55124. Transportation of merchandise by vessels, owners, and 
crews of foreign allied nations.
``(a) Qualified Vessel Described.--For purposes of this section, a 
qualified vessel is a vessel--
``(1) wholly owned for purposes of engaging in coastwise 
trade by--
``(A) one or more nationals of a country listed on 
the Foreign Ally Shipping Registry;
``(B) the government of a country listed on the 
Foreign Ally Shipping Registry; or
``(C) a combination of the entities described in 
clauses (i) or (ii) and a national of the United 
States; and
``(2) flagged in the United States or a country listed on 
the Foreign Ally Shipping Registry.
``(b) Authorization To Engage in Certain Trade.--
``(1) Authorization.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, the Secretary of Transportation may authorize, for a 
period not to exceed 5 years, a qualified vessel to transport 
merchandise by water, or by land and water, between points in 
the United States to which the coastwise laws apply, either 
directly or via a foreign port.
``(2) Renewal.--The Secretary may renew an authorization 
under paragraph (1) for subsequent periods not to exceed 5 
years each.
``(3) Revocation.--If, at any time during the period that 
an authorization issued under this subsection applies, the 
vessel subject to such authorization ceases to be a qualified 
vessel under this section, the Secretary shall revoke the 
authorization--
``(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), not 
later than 30 days after the date on which such vessel 
ceases to be a qualified vessel; or
``(B) with respect to a vessel that ceases to be a 
qualified vessel due to the removal of a country from 
the Foreign Ally Shipping Registry pursuant to 
subsection (d)(2), on the effective date of such 
removal.
``(4) Notice of change in information.--The owner of a 
vessel subject to an authorization under this subsection shall 
notify the Secretary of each change in information on which the 
authorization is based (including information indicative of if 
the vessel is a qualified vessel) not later than 30 days after 
such change.
``(c) Non-Applicability of Crewing Requirements.--The Secretary of 
the department in which the Coast Guard is operating may not enforce 
citizenship requirements under section 8103 of title 46, United States 
Code, or the credentialing requirements under section 8701 of title 46, 
United States Code, with respect to an individual who is--
``(1) a national of the United States or a country listed 
on the Foreign Ally Shipping Registry; and
``(2) employed on a qualified vessel engaged in trade 
pursuant to an authorization under subsection (b).
``(d) Foreign Allied Country Registry.--
``(1) Registry.--For purposes of authorizing transportation 
of merchandise by a vessel under subsection (b), the Secretary 
of State, in consultation with the Commandant of the Coast 
Guard, shall maintain a registry to be known as the `Foreign 
Ally Shipping Registry' that contains a list of each country 
determined by the Secretary to be an ally of the United States 
for purposes of carrying out coastwise trade under this 
section.
``(2) Removal procedures.--
``(A) Determination.--The Secretary, in 
consultation with the Commandant, may remove from the 
Foreign Ally Shipping Registry any country determined 
by the Secretary to no longer be an ally for purposes 
of carrying out coastwise trade under this section.
``(B) Congressional notice.--As soon as is 
practicable within the 30-day period beginning on the 
date on which the Secretary determines that a country 
is no longer an ally under subparagraph (A), the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Foreign 
Affairs and Transportation and Infrastructure of the 
House of Representatives and the Committees on Foreign 
Relations and Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 
the Senate a notice of such determination.
``(C) Effective date of removal.--Removal of a 
country from the Foreign Ally Shipping Registry under 
subparagraph (A) shall take effect on the date that is 
30 days after the date on which the Secretary submits a 
notice under subparagraph (B) with respect to the 
country.
``(D) Immediately removal resulting from 
declaration of war.--Effective immediately upon a 
declaration of war by Congress on any country on the 
Foreign Ally Shipping Registry--
``(i) such country is removed from the 
Registry; and
``(ii) the Secretary may not add such 
country to the Registry during the period of 
such war.
``(3) Treatment of nato member countries.--The Foreign Ally 
Shipping Registry shall include each member country of the 
North Atlantic Treaty Organization, unless and until the date 
on which such country--
``(A) is no longer a member country of the North 
Atlantic Treaty Organization; or
``(B) is otherwise removed from the Foreign Ally 
Shipping Registry pursuant to paragraph (2).''.
(d) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 551 of title 46, 
United States Code, is amended by adding after the item relating to 
section 55123 the following:

``55124. Exception for transportation of merchandise by vessels, 
owners, and crews of foreign allied 
nations.''.

SEC. 3. EXEMPTION FROM DUTY ON REPAIRS OF DOCUMENTED VESSELS IN ALLIED 
FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

Section 466(h) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1466(h)) is 
amended--
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and 
inserting ``; or''; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
``(5) the cost of repairs made in a shipyard located in a 
country listed on the Foreign Ally Shipping Registry pursuant 
to section 55124(d) of title 46, United States Code, with 
respect to documented vessels (as such term is defined in 
section 106 of such title).''.
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