This Article describes the reasons that one of the drafters of the proposal by The Maritime Law Association of the United States to amend COGSA wanted to do so. It describes areas in which the interpretation of the present COGSA by the courts of the United States have differed from the interpretation by the courts of other nations. It also describes some of the proposed changes to COGSA. The Article should assist practitioners to understand the need for the proposal and the proposal itself. It will explain why the proposal should form the first step in a two-step process by the United States to join a convention that should unify the law governing the carriage of goods by sea with our trading partners.