The Jones Act, also known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, is a federal law that regulates maritime commerce in the United States. The act requires goods shipped between U.S. ports to be transported on ships that are built, owned, and operated by United States citizens or permanent residents. The Jones Act was introduced by Wesley Jones, the U.S. Senator from the state of Washington, who designed the legislation to give his state a monopoly on shipping to Alaska. It was enacted by the United States Congress to stimulate the shipping industry in the wake of World War I.
The Jones Act is a piece of protectionist legislation that considerably increases the costs of shipping goods between two U.S. ports. The Act focuses on issues related to maritime commerce, including cabotage or the transport of people or goods between ports in the same country. Under the Jones Act, foreign carriers and crews are banned from domestic water routes. Cabotage from one U.S. port to another is restricted to U.S.-built, -crewed, and -flagged vessels. The requirement was a protectionist economic strategy designed to assist America’s shipyards and maritime fleet.
The Jones Act has been criticized for increasing the cost of shipping to Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and other non-continental U.S. lands that rely on imports. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD), the total average cost of operating a U.S.-flagged vessel is 2.7 times higher than that incurred by foreign-flagged counterparts. However, supporters of the Jones Act maintain that the legislation is of strategic economic and wartime interest to the United States. The act, they say, protects the nations sealift capability and its ability to produce commercial ships. In addition, the act is seen as a vital factor in helping maintain a viable workforce of trained merchant mariners for commerce and national emergencies.
The Jones Act is enforced by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which has the responsibility for enforcing the coastwise laws, including the Jones Act, and can impose fines and penalties on violators.
