LONG BEACH, Calif. (Nov. 26, 2001) — The shipping industry on the U.S. West Coast has started a vigorous lobbying campaign to defeat the proposal of a new tax on all ocean containers entering California seaports.

“This proposed bill would impose a new fee on all full or empty containers entering any California port for the express purpose of funding road infrastructure and dealing with the problems of port congestion,” Robin Lanier, executive director for the West Coast Waterfront Coalition said in a letter to California Sen. Betty Karnette. “Assessing a fee on all containers that enter California ports … is almost sure to drive business away from the state. While this might reduce congestion in California, it would surely do so at the expense of the state’s economy.”