ARLINGTON, VA— As published by Real Clear Policy, Kent Strang Managing Director for Americans for Prosperity, emphasizes that President Donald Trump’s decision to temporarily waive the Jones Act is more than a short-term response to geopolitical tension—it’s a long-overdue acknowledgment that outdated regulations are driving up costs for American families.
Recent reports indicate the White House is actively considering extending the suspension, which has lowered prices and made it easier to ship oil across the United States. This moment should serve as a catalyst to finally dismantle a protectionist law that has consistently failed the very people it claims to help.
Read the entire article here.
America Can’t Afford the Jones Act Anymore
President Donald Trump’s recent decision to issue a 60-day waiver of the Jones Act – allowing oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and coal to be transported between U.S. ports on foreign vessels amid the conflict with Iran – was smart, strategic, and should kick off an important conversation: Why do we still have the Jones Act at all?
For decades, the antiquated law has constrained the efficient movement of goods and raised costs for American consumers, something this administration clearly understands. By acting so decisively, the president is keeping his promise to lower costs for everyday American families.
Congress should take note of the White House’s example and make this a permanent reform.
Also known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, the Jones Act requires that cargo shipped between U.S. ports travel on vessels that are American-built, American-owned, American-flagged, and crewed primarily by Americans.
The law was originally intended to ensure a strong domestic maritime industry. Instead, it has become a textbook example of how interfering with the free market can backfire – constraining supply, stifling competition, driving up costs for American families, and decimating the very industry it was meant to protect.
It’s simple economics – when you limit supply, you increase costs. Because of the Jones Act, American-made ships cost four to eight times more than similar vessels built overseas. Operating them is also more than twice as expensive, largely due to U.S. labor and regulatory costs.
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Congress has a clear choice. It can allow the Jones Act to snap back into place, reimposing higher costs and unnecessary constraints, or it can recognize reality and act in the national interest.
A century-old law that distorts markets, weakens industry, and burdens consumers has outlived whatever usefulness it once had. It is time to let it go once and for all.
Kent Strang is Managing Director for Americans for Prosperity.
Through broad-based grassroots outreach, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is driving long-term solutions to the country’s biggest problems. AFP activists engage friends and neighbors on key issues and encourage them to take an active role in building a culture of mutual benefit, where people succeed by helping one another. AFP recruits and unites activists in all 50 states behind a common goal of advancing policies that will help people improve their lives. For more information, visit www.AmericansForProsperity.org
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