MARAD Administrator: ‘The Jones Act supports a robust shipbuilding industry and bullet-proofs our national security’
New York (September 22, 2016) – The American Maritime Partnership (AMP) – the voice of the domestic maritime industry – applauds the remarks and support shown for the Jones Act at the 2016 TradeWinds Shipowners Forum held in New York City. Speaking alongside maritime leaders from both industry and government, US Maritime Administrator Paul “Chip” Jaenichen addressed the critical importance of the Jones Act for securing and upholding our nation’s maritime capability.
“This crowd knows the value of the Jones Act both to our national security and our economic prosperity, said Admin. Jaenichen. “In almost every trade negotiation, our international competitors want and sometimes demand access to our Jones Act waters – our coast, our rivers, our waterways and our ports. Our national resolve must be to protect those assets and that treasure and [our resolve] cannot weaken.”
Echoing the Administrator’s statement, former U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater confirmed that the “U.S. is a maritime nation,” and that Secretary Foxx and others understand the critical importance of the Jones Act and noted in the U.S. Department of Transportation Beyond Traffic report, a 30-year transportation framework of the future, that “today’s marine transportation system, made up of inland waterways and ports, coastal routes and deep water ports, is still the foundation of our robust international and domestic trade and will remain so for the foreseeable future.”
As noted in a 2016 Lexington Institute report, The Jones Act and Homeland Security in the 21st Century, the Jones Act has taken on new significance for national security, playing a critical role in strengthening U.S. border security and helping to prevent international terrorism. The U.S. marine transportation system relies on the Jones Act to strengthen and secure the U.S. shipbuilding, maintenance and repair-industrial base which contributes more than $100 billion in annual economic output and sustains nearly 500,000 American jobs.
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