More than 100 chief executive officers, union leaders, and maritime industry stakeholders have signed an open letter to Congressional leadership urging them to use their political influence to ensure the March 17 Jones Act waiver expires on May 17 without extension or renewal.
The signatories — representing American shipbuilders, carriers, maritime unions, offshore operators, shipyards, and service companies across all fifty states and Puerto Rico — argue that the waiver has failed to lower gas prices, primarily benefited foreign and Chinese-connected operators, and is actively undermining billions in private investment in American shipyards. They call on Congressional leaders to push back against any executive action that would extend the waiver, warning that doing so would contradict the Administration’s own Maritime Action Plan and Executive Order 14269, “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance.”
The Jones Act, sustains nearly 650,000 American jobs and $154 billion in annual economic output — and must not be weakened.
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