Jones Act 'Suppresses Domestic Commerce' - End It

Any vessel moving cargo between two American ports must be built in an American shipyard, be American-owned and be three-quarters American-crewed. An American-built cargo ship costs $190 million to $250 million to build; the same vessel costs about $30 million from a foreign shipyard. It adds up, but not many people trace it to a statute they're mostly unaware of. One side is lobbying. The other is you, and you're busy. Fewer than 100 oceangoing ships qualify under the Jones Act today, and the American tanker fleet is so thin that moving oil from Texas to the Northeast costs about...