Marine manufacturers head to Washington this April
In 10 days, the NMMA and 12 other industry co-hosts will be welcoming a wide spectrum of those involved in the US marine industry to the American Boating Congress. …
In 10 days, the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and 12 other industry co-hosts will be welcoming a wide spectrum of those involved in the US marine industry to the American Boating Congress (ABC).
On 24 and 25 April, the ABC will bring together representatives from across the country involved in the marine industry from smaller pleasure craft up to superyachts. There is a mixture of closed and open discussion over the two days, as well as presentations from a number of key speakers including Representative Andy Harris from the United States House of Representatives, US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, renowned pollster Neil Newhouse and Economist US Economics Editor Greg IP. The topics on the agenda include state and federal legislation and import regulations to taxes and the economic impact that the leisure marine industry brings to the US.
The two-day meeting also provides an opportunity to meet with the powerhouses of Capitol Hill; delegates will spend the last afternoon meeting with their various representatives in the capital to present the key local issues facing the marine trade.
Jim Currie is the legislative director of the NMMA, which primarily deals with pleasure vessels of 70ft and below, and which has grown strategic ties with other associations, such as the US Superyacht Association, in the past few years.
A Washington veteran with decades of experience, Currie says that the NMMA’s president, Thom Dammrich, recently likened the US marine industry to an ecosystem, where the health of the various vessel size-brackets are all related to an extent; many of the issues that will be raised at the ABC this month will therefore also affect the manufacturers supplying to superyachts.
One of the areas up for discussion at the ABC that Currie considers could be of superyacht relevance is the Lacey Act, which addresses the importation of exotic species, incorporating plants, ie woods. He cites a recent seizure of Indian rosewood that Nashville guitar company Gibson thought was legally sourced but that was retrospectively deemed illegal when the government in India suggested additional processing was needed before legal export.
This example is a warning to yacht supply companies to be able to prove without question that their wood is sourced and imported legally, including ebony, rosewood and teak species. The ABC is looking to provide additional protection to marine companies dealing with potential wood species that may be at risk of product seizures: “If it’s a music instrument company today, there is not reason why tomorrow it might not be a company putting these sorts of exotic species on vessels,” said Currie.
Another topic up for discussion is the BATSA, a business-activity tax, which has had implications of suppliers and manufacturers with customers based in different states; one smaller boat builder based in Florida, Monterey Boats, was recently hit with a $300,000 tax bill in Michigan, based on their countrywide gross receipts. The ABC will be addressing this issue during the conference.
ABC co-hosts the USSA will be sending a delegation of over a dozen US representatives to the two-day conference, with members from a range of superyacht companies and geographical locations around the country.
John Mann, chairman of the USSA, said that the Association was created in order for the large luxury yacht industry to be represented at a national level in the US at meetings in the captial alongside the other marine associations such as the NMMA.
“We have been more focused on the regulations that pertain to large yachts and less so the legislative areas,” he commented of the USSA’s major objectives in Washington over the last few years. “There are three regulatory branches of the US Government that affect large yachts directly, first is the State Department, second is the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and third is the US Coast Guard (USCG).
“One of the first things we did several years ago was regarding education of the State Department about the kinds of visas that professional yacht crew should be granted. They were regularly given the C1D visa, more suited to cruise ship crew because it only allows a 30-day visit period. The B1B2 visa is the correct one for crew of superyachts, allowing up to six months or more in the US so that crew can stay on their yachts for cruising or refit periods.
“The USSA have been working on an education programme to the various departments in order to make sure they understand the different needs of the superyacht crew from cruise ship crew, to help encourage the yachts and crews to be here longer.”
The USSA will also be hosting its own meeting on 24 April to speak directly with these groups that if feels the US superyacht industry needs to reach in Washington: “We will be having a panel discussion with the three departments to update on what has been done in the last three years, and the USSA members can understand the work that has been done. We will then segue into the areas that we want to accomplish with these departments.
“One such example is, regarding the CBP and USCG, we are looking to improve the communication between their two electronic databases for arrival procedures of yachts, which are currently duplicated. This additional, duplicate process is a great annoyance to many captains looking to ease their entry process to US waters, and can put off captain from visiting or cruising US waters. The USSA will be asking for appropriations to be made to simplify this process at this ABC session, so there is just one data submission for both CBP and USCG.”
The economic impact of visiting, cruising and resident superyachts has been much discussed in the last year. This will also be a topic of discussion the USSA intends to raise during the two days:
“We will be trying to educate the Members of Congress about the impact that superyachts have on the US economy when we make the Hill visits the next day, which will hopefully help with appropriation of funds for schemes such as the entry process database linkage. We will be presenting data such as that from Superyacht Intelligence’s recently published Economic Analysis of the Superyacht Industry report, to explain that although we currently have approximately 20 per cent market share in superyachting, we want to encourage this number to grow, and encourage more new builds and launched yachts here, which signifies more jobs, more provisioning, more refit and repair work, and a resulting economic growth in the US.”
Building a successful future of the American superyacht industry is one of the key focuses of next month's American Superyacht Forum, hosted by The Superyacht Group in Fort Lauderdale. Last year's event saw the rallying of the delegates to put together an action plan that sparked the Economic Analysis Study, published in February by SuperyachtIntelligence.com, which revealed that the annual economic contribution of the superyacht industry to the American economy. The findings cited by Mann reveal that each year the revenue generated by superyachts in the US is €4.6bn, approximately US$6bn, and with direct employment of 28,860 individuals.
SuperyachtNews.com will be reporting on the outcomes of the ABC after the event later this month.
For more information on the ABC visit the NMMA website page.
Related links
NMMA
USSA
Economic Analysis of the Superyacht Industry Report
On 24 and 25 April, the ABC will bring together representatives from across the country involved in the marine industry from smaller pleasure craft up to superyachts. There is a mixture of closed and open discussion over the two days, as well as presentations from a number of key speakers including Representative Andy Harris from the United States House of Representatives, US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, renowned pollster Neil Newhouse and Economist US Economics Editor Greg IP. The topics on the agenda include state and federal legislation and import regulations to taxes and the economic impact that the leisure marine industry brings to the US.
The two-day meeting also provides an opportunity to meet with the powerhouses of Capitol Hill; delegates will spend the last afternoon meeting with their various representatives in the capital to present the key local issues facing the marine trade.
Jim Currie is the legislative director of the NMMA, which primarily deals with pleasure vessels of 70ft and below, and which has grown strategic ties with other associations, such as the US Superyacht Association, in the past few years.
A Washington veteran with decades of experience, Currie says that the NMMA’s president, Thom Dammrich, recently likened the US marine industry to an ecosystem, where the health of the various vessel size-brackets are all related to an extent; many of the issues that will be raised at the ABC this month will therefore also affect the manufacturers supplying to superyachts.
One of the areas up for discussion at the ABC that Currie considers could be of superyacht relevance is the Lacey Act, which addresses the importation of exotic species, incorporating plants, ie woods. He cites a recent seizure of Indian rosewood that Nashville guitar company Gibson thought was legally sourced but that was retrospectively deemed illegal when the government in India suggested additional processing was needed before legal export.
This example is a warning to yacht supply companies to be able to prove without question that their wood is sourced and imported legally, including ebony, rosewood and teak species. The ABC is looking to provide additional protection to marine companies dealing with potential wood species that may be at risk of product seizures: “If it’s a music instrument company today, there is not reason why tomorrow it might not be a company putting these sorts of exotic species on vessels,” said Currie.
Another topic up for discussion is the BATSA, a business-activity tax, which has had implications of suppliers and manufacturers with customers based in different states; one smaller boat builder based in Florida, Monterey Boats, was recently hit with a $300,000 tax bill in Michigan, based on their countrywide gross receipts. The ABC will be addressing this issue during the conference.
ABC co-hosts the USSA will be sending a delegation of over a dozen US representatives to the two-day conference, with members from a range of superyacht companies and geographical locations around the country.
John Mann, chairman of the USSA, said that the Association was created in order for the large luxury yacht industry to be represented at a national level in the US at meetings in the captial alongside the other marine associations such as the NMMA.
“We have been more focused on the regulations that pertain to large yachts and less so the legislative areas,” he commented of the USSA’s major objectives in Washington over the last few years. “There are three regulatory branches of the US Government that affect large yachts directly, first is the State Department, second is the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and third is the US Coast Guard (USCG).
“One of the first things we did several years ago was regarding education of the State Department about the kinds of visas that professional yacht crew should be granted. They were regularly given the C1D visa, more suited to cruise ship crew because it only allows a 30-day visit period. The B1B2 visa is the correct one for crew of superyachts, allowing up to six months or more in the US so that crew can stay on their yachts for cruising or refit periods.
“The USSA have been working on an education programme to the various departments in order to make sure they understand the different needs of the superyacht crew from cruise ship crew, to help encourage the yachts and crews to be here longer.”
The USSA will also be hosting its own meeting on 24 April to speak directly with these groups that if feels the US superyacht industry needs to reach in Washington: “We will be having a panel discussion with the three departments to update on what has been done in the last three years, and the USSA members can understand the work that has been done. We will then segue into the areas that we want to accomplish with these departments.
“One such example is, regarding the CBP and USCG, we are looking to improve the communication between their two electronic databases for arrival procedures of yachts, which are currently duplicated. This additional, duplicate process is a great annoyance to many captains looking to ease their entry process to US waters, and can put off captain from visiting or cruising US waters. The USSA will be asking for appropriations to be made to simplify this process at this ABC session, so there is just one data submission for both CBP and USCG.”
The economic impact of visiting, cruising and resident superyachts has been much discussed in the last year. This will also be a topic of discussion the USSA intends to raise during the two days:
“We will be trying to educate the Members of Congress about the impact that superyachts have on the US economy when we make the Hill visits the next day, which will hopefully help with appropriation of funds for schemes such as the entry process database linkage. We will be presenting data such as that from Superyacht Intelligence’s recently published Economic Analysis of the Superyacht Industry report, to explain that although we currently have approximately 20 per cent market share in superyachting, we want to encourage this number to grow, and encourage more new builds and launched yachts here, which signifies more jobs, more provisioning, more refit and repair work, and a resulting economic growth in the US.”
Building a successful future of the American superyacht industry is one of the key focuses of next month's American Superyacht Forum, hosted by The Superyacht Group in Fort Lauderdale. Last year's event saw the rallying of the delegates to put together an action plan that sparked the Economic Analysis Study, published in February by SuperyachtIntelligence.com, which revealed that the annual economic contribution of the superyacht industry to the American economy. The findings cited by Mann reveal that each year the revenue generated by superyachts in the US is €4.6bn, approximately US$6bn, and with direct employment of 28,860 individuals.
SuperyachtNews.com will be reporting on the outcomes of the ABC after the event later this month.
For more information on the ABC visit the NMMA website page.
Meetings with representatives at the Hill visits in 2011 (Jim Currie third from left)
©G.Frank-Adise
©G.Frank-Adise
Related links
NMMA
USSA
Economic Analysis of the Superyacht Industry Report
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