Liability of Carrier for Loss or Damage to International Shipments

Though shipments by truck or rail are usually interstate or intrastate, many such shipments traverse the Mexican and Canadian borders or involve delivery from or to an ocean vessel for international transshipment. The federal laws which set out the liability of a carrier for interstate shipments are known as the Carmack Amendment and the Cummins Acts. This article will deal with the regulation of the so-called "International Shipment." A myriad of problems arises in the determination of what law is applicable to a shipment that either originated in or is destined for a foreign nation. Though the Federal statute itself is relatively simple, the case law has left some unanswered questions.