Jones Act Is Vital to Trump's Vision of Restoring U.S. Maritime Dominance

Since taking office, President Trump has signed some 157 Executive Orders (E.O.s).  One in particular may surprise Americans who thought the nation was still a leader in building ships.  The Executive Order is titled "Restoring America's Maritime Dominance." This E.O. tightly observed that without maritime dominance, the U.S. is in danger of losing its position as a global superpower. 

As discussed in the President’s E.O., the Administration’s goals are to revitalize not only the U.S. Navy but also the entire maritime industrial base and expand U.S.-flagged commercial shipping. To that end, it is proposing, inter alia, to invest in and enlarge the maritime industrial base, including, but not limited to, investment and expansion of commercial and defense shipbuilding capabilities, component supply chains, ship repair and marine transportation capabilities, port infrastructure, and the adjacent workforce. The E.O. also calls for new funding mechanisms to support the expansion of U.S. commercial shipbuilding and to train additional seamen.

One way past Administrations have sought to shore up U.S. maritime capabilities is by requiring that certain maritime trade activities be conducted only by U.S.-flagged and manned commercial vessels. More than one hundred years ago, Congress sought to enhance the nation’s ability to provide and maintain a Navy by passing the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, also known as the Jones Act. The Jones Act places restrictions on what is called cabotage, the movement of goods between American ports and on American waterways. It mandates that only U.S.-built and flagged vessels conduct this trade and that at least 75 percent of the crews of these ships be United States citizens. In addition, the Act restricts the foreign steel content of repair work on U.S. flag vessels, thereby ensuring that such activities take place only in U.S. shipyards.

“We have a lot of shippers and a lot of people... who work in the shipping industry that don’t want the Jones Act lifted,” Trump said in 2017.

Restoring maritime dominance will take resources, investment in the industrial base, continuing high-level commitment, the support of the American people, and time.  “Looking ahead, we also have to reinvest in our maritime sector and begin building new ships and new shipyards,” as Speaker Johnson said.  

The Jones Act’s goals are more critical today than when it was promulgated. Maintaining a fleet of U.S.-flagged, active, commercially viable, militarily useful, and privately owned cargo vessels is vital to ensuring that the military can respond to any wartime need. In addition, the Jones Act helps to maintain a pool of U.S. merchant sailors who can be called upon to man government-owned sealift ships that are reactivated to support a wartime sealift effort. The Jones Act is also an essential tool for homeland security, particularly in helping to secure the 25,000 miles of navigable inland waterways of the United States.

Of course, the Jones Act is occasionally waived for brief emergencies.  Short waivers were granted in 2008, 2012 and in 2017.  Despite this, during the 2017 response to Hurricane Maria, it was the U.S. shippers who surged.  Crowley, whose vessels comply with Jones Act regulations and regularly deliver cargo to Puerto Rico, deployed additional vessels and dispatched 50 trucks to speed up relief supply delivery.

Some within the Trump Administration would like to see the Jones Act terminated. This would be a grave mistake. The Jones Act supports the President’s goals of reindustrializing America and returning critical manufacturing capabilities to this country. It also helps to support the maintenance of a cadre of skilled seamen and maritime construction workers. If anything, the Jones Act should be strengthened.

Dr. Goure is Non-Resident Fellow with the Lexington Institute, a nonprofit public-policy research organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. He is involved in a wide range of issues as part of the institute’s national security program.