Grabow cites 'perhaps the most hilarious pro-Jones Act argument' ever

from Grassroot Institute

Grassroot Scholar Colin Grabow took to X on Tuesday to mock what he called "perhaps the most ridiculous pro-Jones Act argument I have ever encountered."

Grabow, one of the nation's leading Jones Act critics, was referring to a justification made in the July 2 edition of Homeland Security Today. In an article titled "Infrastructure Security Special: Francis Scott Key Bridge and the Jones Act," author David Foley Jr., a policy adviser and attorney in the Executive Branch, wrote:

"Additionally, one of the ostensible negative effects of the Jones Act may actually be beneficial, at least with respect to the goal of reducing bridge collisions. As noted above, critics have keyed in on the fact that only 2% of American freight travels by sea, while 40% of freight travels by sea in Europe, blaming the discrepancy on the Jones Act. Assuming critics are correct, repeal of the Jones Act would potentially result in a 20 times increase in freight sent by sea between U.S. ports. Since a key factor in the number of bridge collisions is the amount of vessel traffic going through a particular port, a 20 times increase in traffic would certainly result in significantly increased risk of collisions."

Which Grabow translated into: "The law's success in crushing domestic shipping reduces the risk of bridge strikes. The logic is unassailable." A commenter added, "Ships can't crash into bridges if there aren't any ships."

U.S. Rep. Ed Case keeps Jones Act in his sights

Responding to a question from Honolulu Civil Beat, U.S. Rep. Ed Case said on Monday that the biggest issue facing his district is the high cost of living — and the Jones Act, which limits shipping competition between U.S. ports, contributes to that.

Case, who has introduced several bills in Congress concerning the 1920 federal maritime law, said the Jones Act results in "a large unfair shipping surcharge on virtually all of our necessities [and] must be reformed."

A 2020 study commissioned by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii found that the Jones Act costs Hawaii residents about $1.2 billion a year.