A major metropolitan editorial board has reached the same conclusion the American maritime industry has held all along: the ongoing Jones Act waiver should end, and it should end soon. In an editorial published June 17, the Seattle Times editorial board called for the Trump administration to lift its waiver of the Jones Act, warning that the repeated suspensions are flooding U.S. shipbuilding with uncertainty at exactly the wrong moment.
Read the full editorial: End Jones Act waivers that rock U.S. shipbuilding
What is the Jones Act?
The Jones Act is the foundation of U.S. maritime policy. The 106-year-old law requires that any vessel moving cargo between two U.S. ports be American built, American owned, and American crewed. It sustains the nation’s merchant marine, supports the maritime industrial base the country depends on in wartime, and keeps a pool of skilled American mariners ready when they are needed.
The numbers behind the law are substantial. The Jones Act supports nearly 650,000 American jobs across all 50 states, contributes more than $154 billion to the economy each year, and underpins a fleet of roughly 40,000 vessels that carries about a quarter of the nation’s freight.
What is a Jones Act waiver?
The law can be temporarily set aside in the interest of national defense. Earlier this year, the administration issued a waiver after Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted oil shipments, allowing foreign-flagged vessels to carry fuel between U.S. ports. The stated goal was to bring down the cost of oil. The administration has since extended the suspension with a second 90-day waiver.
What the Seattle Times editorial said
Even while acknowledging the law is not beyond improvement, the board concluded plainly that in an era of intense global competition the Jones Act “remains a necessity.” Its case against the waiver came down to two points.
First, the waiver has not delivered. The energy secretary told Congress that close to 100 vessels have used a waiver, yet gas prices have stayed high. As the editorial noted, that is no surprise, since researchers estimate the Jones Act adds only about 1.5 cents to the price of a gallon of gas. With oil prices now easing as the conflict winds down, the board argued the latest waiver should be lifted immediately.
Second, and more lasting, the waiver has destabilized American shipbuilding. Shipbuilders plan on decades-long timelines to secure materials, train a skilled workforce, and keep a steady cadence of new vessels coming. Repeatedly opening the domestic market to foreign competition on short notice, the board argued, undercuts the confidence that long-term investment requires.
Why the waiver matters for American shipbuilding
The scale of the global competition makes that instability hard to absorb. The editorial pointed out that in 2022, China was building nearly 1,800 oceangoing ships and South Korea 734, while the United States produced just five. Suspending the very law that anchors domestic shipbuilding does nothing to close that gap.
It also works against the administration’s own stated goals. The Maritime Action Plan aims to invest in commercial and military shipbuilding and cut red tape at U.S. shipyards. Suspending the Jones Act on short notice pulls in the opposite direction. As the editorial observed, the country cannot rebuild its shipyards with one hand while weakening the laws that support American vessels with the other.
Where Transportation Institute stands
Transportation Institute has advocated for a strong American maritime industry since 1967, and its position on the Jones Act is unchanged: the law is an anchor of both national and economic security. A domestic fleet that is built, owned, and crewed by Americans is what allows the country to move troops, fuel, and supplies on its own terms in a crisis, without relying on foreign vessels or foreign crews. That is why the Jones Act has earned broad, bipartisan support in Congress and among national security leaders for more than a century, and why it sustains nearly 650,000 American jobs today.
The current waiver does not serve those interests. As the editorial recognized, suspending the Jones Act has done little to lower fuel prices, and it has come at a real cost to the shipbuilders and mariners the law was written to protect. When a mainstream editorial board independently reaches the same conclusion the maritime industry has championed for years, it is worth attention. The better path is the one the board points toward: lift the waiver, and work through Congress on a long-term strategy that strengthens American shipbuilding rather than sidelining it.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Jones Act require?
It requires that cargo moving between two U.S. ports travel on vessels that are built, owned, and crewed by Americans.
Why was the Jones Act waiver issued?
The administration suspended the law to allow foreign-flagged vessels to carry oil between U.S. ports after the Strait of Hormuz blockade, with the stated aim of lowering fuel costs.
How does the waiver affect U.S. shipbuilding?
Shipbuilders rely on stable, predictable demand to justify long-term investment. Repeated waivers introduce uncertainty that can stall new contracts and slow investment in domestic shipyards.