New proposed legislative in the USA in order to dismantle Jones Act



The American deputy And Houses, representative of Primo Distretto of Hawaii, has introduced to the Conference three bills that in fact would dismantle the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, commonly famous as Jones Act, the law that imposes that all the marine transports between ports of the United States are carried out exclusively with ships of USA flag, constructed in the United States, of American property and with crew composed from American citizens.

The deputy has evidenced that since today the realized marine transports in the within of Jones Act have been reduced drastically, while international the marine transport has grown esponenzialmente species in the last quarter of century, Jones Act does so as that least marine carriers can satisfy all the requirements of national marine transport. Houses have denounced that, in particular, the current effect of Jones Act is artificially to swell the costs of marine shipments for Hawaii.

"Mine three bills - it has explained And Houses - directly aim to one of the key factors that are profitable elevated our cost of living in Hawaii astronomically and in other resorts of our nation that do not take part of the continental territory of the USA. Since Jones Act remarkablly limits the offer of marine transport from and for our communities, he has allowed with least companies to control our same vital exchanges with the outside world and consequently he has carried to elevated rates of marine transport very more regarding the remainder of the world".

A thesis, that of the congresswoman American, rejected dryly from the Matson, the company of American navigation, with center to Honolulu, specialized own in regulated marine services from Jones Act. "To more attribute the elevated costs of living in Hawaii to the marine transport - it has emphasized the society in a note - this ignores that the local economists and journalists have repeatedly found over the years, that is that the marine transport costs are only one of the many factors of cost that are reflected on the local prices of the consumer goods and represent a small fraction of the differences of price between Hawaii and the continent". "The reason for which in the modern times Jones Act it has had so hard a support bi-partisan in every Conference and administration - continues the note - it is because it is important for national safety and the national defense so as, from an economic point of view, for safety of the service regarding remote communities as Hawaii and Alaska. The importance to be able to count on a line of essential transport is easy to give for discounted but it can difficultly be overhauled".

The deputy Case considers instead that, if the activity were not regulated by Jones Act, many international companies of navigation could compete for a quota this specific market: "if of Hawaii - it has found - only two companies cargo of national flag, the Matson and the Pasha, exercise a virtual duopoly on our vital supplyings and they alternatively do not exercise an effective control of market".

The legislative House And proposals of are centralized on excluding all the not contiguous American resorts, included Hawaii, from the within of application of Jones Act and on the revocation of Jones Act everywhere to monopolies or duopolies in the field of the marine transport to service of not contiguous territories develop themselves.

The proposals of Houses are supported by the Hawai'i Shippers' Council: "Jones Act - he has agreed the president of the association of the shippers of Hawaii, Michael Hansen - has returned national the marine industry of the United States most expensive to the world and its burdens fall back heavy on the not contiguous jurisdictions contemplated by the law because of the their complete dependency from oceanic navigation for the inter-state transport of surface. Various, the 48 contiguous USA States have approached to other modalities of inter-state transport of surface, included the transports on the road, railroad, gas pipeline and fluvial barge. Jones Act - Hansen has denounced - is one of the main factors of cost that affect on the economy and the elevated cost of living of Hawaii".