Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Saturday, May 2, 2015
Jones Act Industry Lawyer Addresses Full Repeal Strawman
By Michael Hansen @ 2:48 AM :: 5080 Views :: Jones Act

Jones Act Industry Lawyer Addresses Full Repeal Strawman

by Michael Hansen, Hawaii Shippers Council, May 1, 2015

The Journal of Maritime Law & Commerce published an interesting paper, “Myth and Conjecture? The ‘cost’ of the Jones Act,” written by four members of the K&L Gates law firm lead by Mark Ruge, Partner and co-chair of the firm’s Public Policy and Law Practice.  The G&L Gates law firm is a K Street practice and one of the ten largest law firms in the U.S.

A veteran of more than a decade as a staffer on Capitol Hill, Mr. Ruge serves as counsel to the American Maritime Partnership, the largest coalition in the history of the U.S. maritime industry, and represents numerous other transportation clients on federal policy issues.  The American Maritime Partnership (AMP) is the primary Jones Act industry trade association whose raison d'être is to mount a very active defense of the nation’s cabotage laws.

The primary thrust of the paper is to outline the problems of operating a foreign flag ship exclusively in the domestic coastwise trades of the United States if the Jones Act and related laws were to be repealed.  Mr. Ruge and his co-authors have correctly identified the problems of operating a foreign flag ship in these circumstances, which makes such an operation largely infeasible.

Ensuring that any relaxation of the Jones Act would not change the current application of the rest of the federal and state regulatory environment to both domestic and foreign ships operating in domestic trades is an important position for the Jones Act industry and they refer to it as the “level playing field,” as another line of cabotage defense.

Mr. Ruge and his co-authors did not discuss moderate Jones Act reforms such as U.S. Senator John S McCain’s legislative proposals of 2010 and 2015 eliminating the domestic ship build requirement.  Nor did they contemplate in their paper the current use of foreign flag ships in the noncontiguous trades with American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the protocols for employing foreign flag ships in domestic transportation under emergency Jones Act waivers.  Those items would have provided more nuance, but of course, the counsel to the Jones Act industry wants to put forward the most extreme case of a full nationwide repeal of the Jones Act to act as a strawman and argue against any changes to the coastwise laws.

Given the very strong case Mr. Ruger and his co-authors make that operating a foreign flag ship exclusively in domestic trade in the absence of the Jones Act would be infeasible, leads one to wonder why his clients at the American Maritime Partnership are so frightened by Jones Act reform?

---30---

Attachment: Myth and Conjecture? The “Cost” of the Jones Act

Journal of Maritime Law & Commerce, Vol. 46, No. 1, January, 2015

Mark Ruge, Partner and Co-Chair, Public Policy and Law Practice, K&L Gates (Washington, DC), J.D. Georgetown University Law Center.

Darrell Conner, Government Affairs Counselor and Co-Chair, Public Policy and Law Practice, K&L Gates (Washington, DC), B.A. James Madison University.

Nickolas Milonas, Associate, K&L Gates (Washington, DC), J.D. American University Washington College of Law.

Sarah Beason, Associate, K&L Gates (Washington, DC), J.D. William and Mary School  of Law.

 

 

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT