OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific dramatically reduced its use of temporary limits on some businesses' shipments over the past year after its customers complained, but regulators said Wednesday the railroad must go further to be in line with the other major freight railroads that rarely use such embargoes.
Even though Union Pacific went from imposing 1,081 embargoes in 2022 to just 181 last year, the Surface Transportation Board said that was still more than all the other major freight railroads combined. The board did note, however, that the drop “is a positive and welcome step.”
The limits have been traditionally used only in extreme circumstances when something outside a railroad's control, like a flood or bridge fire, makes it hard for them to keep up. But over the past few years, Union Pacific had gotten in the habit of imposing embargoes whenever their railroad got congested to force businesses to temporarily limit their shipments and pull some of their railcars off of UP’s network.
An embargo can force a business to consider cutting production or resorting to more expensive shipping options, like trucking, if that’s even an option. And they can make it harder for other businesses to get the key products, such as shipments of chlorine used to treat water, or grain for feeding animals.
Many businesses are served by only one railroad. Their bulk products may not be well suited to being delivered by trucks, so they don’t have many options when Union Pacific imposes limits.
Regulators had to twice order the railroad to deliver emergency shipments to livestock producer Foster Farms to ensure that company wouldn’t run out of feed for the millions of chickens it raises.
Jeff Sloan, senior director of regulatory affairs at the American Chemistry Council trade group, said he was glad to see UP reducing its use of embargoes along with the STB's promise to continue monitoring the railroad.
“We definitely support strong board oversight of railroads’ use of embargoes to make sure they’re not being misused,” Sloan said.
Business groups and members of the STB contended at a hearing on the embargoes that the main reason Union Pacific couldn't keep up with all the shipments was because the Omaha, Nebraska-based railroad had failed to hire enough train crews.
Union Pacific and the other major freight railroads have all been hiring aggressively over the past two years to help them improve service. The railroads have acknowledged that they cut their workforce too deep during the pandemic and had a hard time hiring enough workers to handle the rebound in the economy. So customer service suffered, particularly in 2022 when the board held a hearing on the industrywide problems.
At the time the STB held a hearing on Union Pacific's embargoes in December 2022 the railroad's executives argued the limits were necessary to help improve the performance of the railroad.
It wasn't immediately clear how much Union Pacific has changed its policy since Jim Vena became CEO last summer because the railroad didn't address that in its response to Wednesday's decision.
As part of its order, the Surface Transportation Board scolded Union Pacific for taking months to produce documents and answer questions throughout the proceeding.
“UP’s conduct in this regard bordered on the contumacious and cannot be viewed as acceptable conduct by a railroad subject to the Board’s statutory authority,” the board wrote.
The railroad defended the way it replied to the STB and its use of embargoes in a statement.
“Union Pacific responded to the STB’s inquires with thousands of documents and through many meetings and touchpoints,” the railroad said. “The STB’s ruling is a positive step forward and our service performance indicators have improved significantly over the past year. As a common carrier, embargoes are an important tool to maintain fluidity for all customers.”
UP is one of the nation's largest railroads with more than 30,000 miles of track crisscrossing 23 western states.
FILE - A maintenance worker walks past the company logo on the side of a locomotive in the Union Pacific Railroad fueling yard in north Denver, Oct. 18, 2006. Union Pacific dramatically reduced its use of temporary limits on some businesses' shipments over the past year after its customers complained, but regulators said Wednesday, April 17, 2024, that the railroad must go further to be in line with the other major freight railroads that rarely use such embargoes. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Israeli officials sound increasingly concerned that the International Criminal Court could issue arrest warrants for the country’s leaders more than six months into the Israel-Hamas war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has written in general terms about ICC action against Israeli troops and officials, and Israel’s foreign ministry has said it is also tracking reports of pending action.
The ICC was established in 2002 as the permanent court of last resort to prosecute individuals responsible for the world’s most heinous atrocities – war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression.
The Rome Statute creating the ICC was adopted in 1998 and entered into force when it got 60 ratifications on July 1, 2002. The U.N. General Assembly endorsed the ICC, but the court is independent.
Without a police force, the ICC relies on member states to arrest suspects, which has proven to be a major obstacle to prosecutions.
Netanyahu said Friday on the social platform X that Israel “will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense.”
“While the ICC will not affect Israel’s actions, it would set a dangerous precedent,” he wrote.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said late Sunday that it had informed missions abroad of “ rumors ” that the court could order the arrest of senior Israeli political and military officials. The ministry did not give a source for the rumors.
In a statement emailed to The Associated Press, the court’s prosecution office declined to comment in detail.
The ICC’s 124 member states have signed on to the Rome Statute. Dozens of countries did not sign and do not accept the court’s jurisdiction over war crimes, genocide and other crimes. They include Israel, the United States, Russia and China.
The ICC becomes involved when nations are unable or unwilling to prosecute crimes on their territory. Israel argues that it has a functioning court system, and disputes over a nation’s ability or willingness to prosecute have fueled past disputes between the court and individual countries.
In 2020, then-President Donald Trump slapped economic and travel sanctions on the ICC prosecutor and another senior prosecution office staffer. The ICC staff were looking into U.S. and allies’ troops and intelligence officials for possible war crimes in Afghanistan.
President Joe Biden, whose administration has provided crucial military and political support for the Gaza offensive, lifted the sanctions in 2021.
The ICC has 17 ongoing investigations, has issued a total of 42 arrest warrants and taken 21 suspects into custody. Its judges have convicted 10 suspects and acquitted four.
In its early years, the court was criticized for focusing on crimes in Africa — 10 of its investigations are in African nations — but now it has investigations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.
The U.N. General Assembly raised the Palestinians’ status in 2012 from a U.N. observer to a non-member observer state. That opened the door for the Palestinian territories to join international organizations including the ICC.
The ICC accepted “The State of Palestine” as a member in 2015, a year after the Palestinians accepted the court’s jurisdiction.
The court’s chief prosecutor at the time announced in 2021 that she was opening an investigation into possible crimes on Palestinian territory. Israel often levies accusations of bias at U.N. and international bodies, and Netanyahu slammed the decision as hypocritical and antisemitic.
Current ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan visited Ramallah and Israel in December, meeting Palestinian officials and families of Israelis killed or taken hostage by Hamas militants in the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war.
Khan called Hamas’ actions “some of the most serious international crimes that shock the conscience of humanity, crimes which the ICC was established to address,” and called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
Khan said “international humanitarian law must still apply” in the Israel-Hamas war and “the Israeli military knows the law that must be applied.” After the visit, Khan said an ICC investigation into possible crimes by Hamas militants and Israeli forces “is a priority for my office.”
A year ago after the court issued a warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on charges of responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine. Russia responded by issuing its own arrest warrants for Khan and ICC judges.
Other high-profile leaders charged by the court include ousted Sudanese strongman Omar al-Bashir on allegations including genocide in his country’s Darfur region. Former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was captured and killed by rebels shortly after the ICC issued a warrant for his arrest on charges linked to the brutal suppression of anti-government protests in 2011.
Follow AP's coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
FILE - Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi delivers his speech during a meeting with hundreds of prominent Italian women in a concert hall, June 12, 2009, in Rome. The former Libyan leader was captured and killed by rebels shortly after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest on charges linked to the brutal suppression of anti-government protests in 2011. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
FILE - Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir attends a ceremony for Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the Presidential Palace, July 9, 2018, in Ankara, Turkey. Ousted Sudanese strongman Omar al-Bashir was charged by the International Criminal Court on allegations including genocide in his country's Darfur region. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the annual congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. A year ago after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Putin on charges of responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine. Russia responded by issuing its own arrest warrants for ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan and ICC judges. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting at the Kirya military base, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defense, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Dec. 24, 2023. Israeli officials sound increasingly concerned that the International Criminal Court could issue arrest warrants for the country's leaders more than six months into the Israel-Hamas war. Netanyahu said on the social platform X Friday, April 26, 2024, that Israel "will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense." (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, Pool, File)
FILE - Exterior view of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. Israeli officials sound increasingly concerned that the International Criminal Court could issue arrest warrants for the country's leaders more than six months into the Israel-Hamas war. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
