Strangled Harbors: The Devastating Economics of the Jones Act

If you want to ship a container of goods from Los Angeles to Hawaii, it will cost you significantly more than shipping that exact same container all the way to China. The culprit behind this absurd macroeconomic distortion is an obscure, fiercely guarded piece of protectionist legislation passed in 1920: The Jones Act. Also known as American cabotage law, the Jones Act strictly dictates that any cargo transported by water between two U.S. ports must be carried on ships that are built, owned, and crewed entirely by American citizens. Because American shipbuilding is astronomically expensive compared to foreign yards, this law created an untouchable maritime monopoly that artificially inflates the cost of literally everything on isolated islands like Puerto Rico and Hawaii. This book exposes the ruthless lobbying efforts of the domestic shipping cartel. We break down the devastating impact of this law on modern supply chains, energy costs, and disaster relief operations. Look behind the curtain of maritime law. Understand how a century-old legislative ghost continues to quietly extract billions from the American economy.