Photo courtesy of City of Tacoma

The Seattle Times reports that the Ports of Tacoma (pictured) and Seattle ”are losing market share, and they lay part of the blame on the harbor-maintenance tax. Importers and shippers can bypass the levy — $1.25 per $1,000 in cargo — by entering through or Mexican ports and moving the goods to final U.S. destinations by truck or rail. Now the tax’s most-aggrieved critics are about to get relief — though not the solution they preferred.” Photo courtesy of City of Tacoma.

Republicans and Democrats in the House and the Senate last week finalized a long-sought agreement to renew the Water Resources Reform and Development Act, the law governing the nation’s ports, dams, locks and maritime transportation and infrastructure needs. For the first time, the legislation reserves a portion of the pooled harbor-tax revenues for high-volume ports such as Seattle and Tacoma to give to their customers as rebates.

That provision, authored by Democratic Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington, was tailored to aid “donor” ports that remit much more taxes to the federal Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund than they get back for needed dredging and maintenance work. But it’s unclear how much — or if — that would help reverse the fortunes for Seattle and Tacoma, which have lost freight business to domestic as well as foreign ports.

Port officials had unsuccessfully backed separate, related bills introduced by Murray, Cantwell and U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Seattle) to do away with the harbor tax. It would have been replaced with a fee on all U.S.-bound international cargo at the point of origin, not at port of entry.

More at the Seattle Times