From the American Maritime Partnership, to which the MTD is affiliated:
Today, the Administration announced that it was extending for another 90-days a Jones Act waiver that was already extraordinarily long and broad. Below is AMP’s statement on the Administration’s announcement.
“President Trump’s decision to require a case-by-case review before allowing foreign vessels to carry domestic maritime commerce is an improvement over the previous blanket Jones Act waiver, which took work from American mariners and shipbuilders and froze investment in the maritime industrial base. However, we are disappointed that the waiver has been extended when the public record is clear: the waiver has not lowered fuel prices for American consumers and has been used to increase oil traders’ margins, not meet military needs. AMP urges the Trump Administration to conduct a rigorous review of the national defense justification for each and every waiver request and to carefully assess the availability of U.S. vessels before allowing a foreign vessel to move cargo between U.S. ports. AMP also underscores the importance of ensuring that any foreign vessel granted a waiver to meet a genuine national defense need for which a U.S. vessel is not available complies fully with all other applicable U.S. law, including tax, immigration, labor, etc. This is essential to putting American workers and taxpayers first.” – Jennifer Carpenter, President, American Maritime Partnership.