Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #endthejonesact
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Given the recent public attention @CatoInstitute's criticism of the Jones Act has received, it's worth quickly reviewing why we believe such criticism is warranted, @cpgrabow writes: cato.org/blog/why-cato-…
#EndTheJonesAct (🧵THREAD)
#EndTheJonesAct (🧵THREAD)
1) The Jones Act has failed to produce a healthy U.S. maritime industry. Over the last four decades, the number of JA‐compliant oceangoing cargo ships has more than halved.
2) It has undermined shipbuilding competitiveness.
#EndTheJonesAct (2/x)
2) It has undermined shipbuilding competitiveness.
#EndTheJonesAct (2/x)
3) It has failed to meet U.S. national security needs.
4) It impedes domestic commerce, especially for energy, by making ocean shipping a last, high-cost resort for moving goods over long distances (and sometimes, even flatly impossible).
#EndTheJonesAct (3/x)
4) It impedes domestic commerce, especially for energy, by making ocean shipping a last, high-cost resort for moving goods over long distances (and sometimes, even flatly impossible).
#EndTheJonesAct (3/x)
It’s not every day you find a government document calling for @CatoInstitute employees to be charged with treason...
It seems we’ve touched a nerve.
A #CatoTrade 🧵...
It seems we’ve touched a nerve.
A #CatoTrade 🧵...
For months, Cato’s @PGEddington & @ColinGrabow have been using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to gain access to internal emails from the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD)
It's been a grueling process and responses from MARAD have often been late, missing, or incomplete
It's been a grueling process and responses from MARAD have often been late, missing, or incomplete
After months of appeals and threats of legal action on our part, MARAD finally sent us the required materials last month.
After reading through what they sent, we understand why the agency was so reluctant to comply with the law...
After reading through what they sent, we understand why the agency was so reluctant to comply with the law...
"shipments of U.S. crude oil by Jones Act tankers and barges from the Gulf Coast to the East Coast fell by 57% in 2016, according to EIA data. At the same time, imports of foreign crude oil to the East Coast rose by 35%"
#EndTheJonesAct
#EndTheJonesAct
This can't be explained without the Jones Act. When faced with expensive domestic shipping, it makes more sense for East Coast refiners to buy foreign than domestic.
More on that here: ft.com/content/b1ea86…
More on that here: ft.com/content/b1ea86…
Also note: "approximately 80% of the Jones Act fleet was built between 2007 and 2016, and since such vessels have a lifespan of approximately 30 years, it is unlikely that there will be a need to build new tankers in this decade given the decrease in demand."
To the extent the Jones Act provides a national security benefit, it's the mariners from the 98 ship fleet that could be used to crew sealift ships in time of war.
Barring WWIII, the ships (77 of which are "militarily useful") themselves would mostly remain in domestic trade.
Barring WWIII, the ships (77 of which are "militarily useful") themselves would mostly remain in domestic trade.
So how many mariners are we talking? 3,380 per this recent report: csbaonline.org/uploads/docume…
If the Jones Act imposes a billion dollars in costs annually, that's ~$295,000 per mariner. $5 billion in costs annually means nearly $1.5 million per mariner.
If the Jones Act imposes a billion dollars in costs annually, that's ~$295,000 per mariner. $5 billion in costs annually means nearly $1.5 million per mariner.
On a related note, recall that @JosephEStiglitz says a White House analysis placed the cost per job for the Jones Act at around $250,000: npr.org/transcripts/55…
Hawaii additionally has one of the highest costs of living anywhere due to the Jones Act, which was passed in 1920 to protect US shipbuilding.
Now is a great time to repeal the Jones Act!
Now is a great time to repeal the Jones Act!
Jones Act cons: shipping monopolies charge exorbitant prices and enforce high costs of living in places with currently quite high unemployment rates.
Jones Act pros: protect from competition the US shipbuilding industry (hint: we don’t really have one anymore.)
Jones Act pros: protect from competition the US shipbuilding industry (hint: we don’t really have one anymore.)
Earlier this year @CRS4Congress released a report about the Jones Act (everycrsreport.com/files/20190517…) that amounted to a searing indictment of the law. Now the Jones Act lobby is using their Hill attack dogs to have it removed from circulation: maritime-executive.com/editorials/op-…
@CRS4Congress It's pretty easy to understand why. If I were part of the JA lobby I wouldn't want people to know about the high cost of U.S. commercial shipbuilding either (note the extensive footnoting):
#EndTheJonesAct
#EndTheJonesAct
@CRS4Congress I wouldn't want people to know that U.S. shipyards themselves have argued that the high cost of shipbuilding is detrimental to the U.S. fleet, one of the things the Jones Act is supposed to promote:
