By Leo Ryan, Editor
The Jones Act, the longest-surviving protectionist legislation in the industrialized world, looks guaranteed of continuing support from the White Office once President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20. This, at least, seems the logical conclusion to draw after he shared this week on his Truth Social platform an article published on far-right online magazine American Thinker.
Referring to The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, better known as the Jones Act, the article states: “For over a century, the Jones Act has required that goods transported between U.S. ports are carried on ships that are American-built, American-owned, and American-crewed. While that might sound like a small regulatory detail, its impact is huge, touching everything from U.S. job creation to national security to our growing offshore wind industry.
“The re-election of Trump signals a continued commitment to the Jones Act, supporting a uniquely American industry that spans jobs, innovation, and security. In choosing Trump, the American people voted for a leader who recognizes that policies like the Jones Act aren’t outdated relics but vital pillars of U.S. prosperity and safety. For American workers, communities reliant on the maritime industry, and anyone invested in a strong, secure America, this election outcome is a win—plain and simple.”
Trump’s first administration emphasized the importance of the Jones Act but it also faced criticism for issuing waivers that some industry representatives argued undermined the law’s protections. In 2017, a limited Jones Act waiver was issued following Hurricanes Harvey and Irma as well as Hurricane Maria which devastated Puerto Rico.
Longstanding Canadian Great Lakes shipping complaint
For decades, the Jones Act has not been a favourite subject for Canadian Great Lakes carriers. Since the Act notably restricts domestic shipping services to ships that are U.S-built, U.S.- owned, U.S.-flagged and U.S.- crewed, Canadian and other foreign operators cannot move goods between two U.S. ports, which would offer a competitive advantage in costs and technology.
This observer cannot help recalling, in this regard, an impassioned debate in the 1980s between Fred Pitre, a senior executive with Canada Steamship Lines and George Ryan of the Lake Carriers Association and ardent Jones Act champion. This was during one of the annual joint conferences of the time between the LCA and the then-Canadian Shipowners’ Association that coincided with negotiations for a broad Canada-U.S. free trade agreement. Mr. Pitre certainly came out with all guns firing!
Analysts deduced that Canada’s demands for reciprocal cabotage rights, in the end, were a “sacrificial lamb” to conclude the FTA that came into force on Jan. 1, 1989. Existing Canadian law contained a waiver mechanism that allowed U.S. ships to operate in Canada in a specific trade case where a Canadian vessel was not available. Subsequent efforts to weaken or reform the Jones Act in the broader North American free trade accord encompassing Mexico and also in global agreements through the World Trade Organization have been in vain.
Various shipper groups in the United States have also, in recent years, been unsuccessful in denting the powerful shipyard and domestic shipping lobbies in Congress. Such highly respected public policy research entities as the Washington-based Cato Institute have unceasingly castigated the Jones Act – for imposing significant costs on the U.S. economy and environment while promoting “fallacious arguments” on national security grounds.
Over the decades, the U.S. flag fleet captive to the Great Lakes has aged substantially. Indeed, April 2019 marked the first time since the early 1980s that construction was announced for a new bulk carrier destined for U.S. Great Lakes service. It was on July 27, 2022 that the 640-foot MV Mark W. Barker, built by Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding for Interlake Steamship Company, embarked on its maiden voyage.
(Recent photo by David Schauer of the Mark W. Barker in Port of Duluth)