Carriers rejected at least $1.3 billion in potential U.S. agricultural exports from July to December

The United States saw at least $1.3 billion in potential agricultural exports rejected at major ports on the East and West coasts, from July to December last year, according to a CNBC analysis.

The rejections were particularly heavy in December, according to analysis of data compiled from the Census Bureau and the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in California, and the Port of New York in New Jersey.

The estimated total value of lost export trade from the three ports for December was a minimum of $257.5 million. The Port of New York and New Jersey saw its largest volume of export rejections for 2020 during December.

The maritime carriers‘ export decisions at these ports are under investigation by the Federal Maritime Commission. Commissioners are examining whether this denial of trade is in violation of the 1984 Shipping Act. This investigation comes at a time where China’s exports hit records. The full year trade surplus reached $535 billion, the highest since 2015.

One of the key legal obligations in the Shipping Act is the nondiscriminatory regulatory process by the carriers for the movement of goods by water. Maritime carriers have been favoring sending back empty containers to China in an effort to quickly fill the boxes so they can be transported along the more lucrative China-U.S. route.