Evidence mounts backing Grassroot’s calls to reform or repeal Jones Act restrictions

from Grassroot Institute

A 60-day Jones Act waiver issued by President Donald Trump on March 17, which is set to be followed by a 90-day waiver, has already started showing “that when you make transportation less expensive within the United States, you can better connect Americans and make it easier for Americans to access American goods,” according to Jones Act expert Colin Grabow.

On a recent episode of Grassroot President Keliʻi Akina’s ThinkTech Hawaii program, “Talk Story with Keliʻi Akina,” Grabow, who is an associate director at the Cato Institute's Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies and a Grassroot scholar, explained the significance of the waivers for fuel and fertilizer shipments, and the economic impact the century-old maritime law has had American consumers.

Grabow shared several head-scratching examples of how the Jones Act mandate that goods be shipped between U.S. ports on vessels that are registered and built in the U.S. and crewed and owned by mostly Americans has led to inefficient trade patterns that increase shipping costs.

He said the latest waiver quickly resulted in new shipping routes that "you never see,” and “every time the waiver gets used is additional proof of the Jones Act shortcomings.”

You can read a full summary and listen to the insightful 27-minute conversation here.

In related news …

>> Representing the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, Akina recently signed on to a coalition letter spearheaded by Americans for Prosperity that urges congress to repeal the Jones Act. You can read it and see the 35 other signers here.

>> Additionally, Americans for Prosperity’s vice president of external affairs, Katelyn Bledsoe, had a Jones Act opinion column published yesterday in the DC Journal. You can read it here.

>> The Wall Street Journal produced an excellent editorial earlier this week also calling for “permanent Jones Act relief.” You can read it here.

>> In an essay published last month in Honolulu Civil Beat, former Hawaii congressman Charles Djou cited Grassroot’s 2020 study that found the Jones Act costs the state’s economy $1.2 billion a year and eliminates more than 9,000 potential jobs. You can read it here.

>> The results of that Grassroot study were also mentioned last month in a RealClear Policy article headlined “America Can’t Afford the Jones Act Anymore,” which you can read here.