Defending the Jones Act is Job #1: What AWO is Doing and How You Can Help

Dear AWO Members,

Defending the Jones Act -- the statutory foundation of every dollar you invest in American-built tugboats, towboats and barges and every job you provide to American mariners -- is AWO's top advocacy priority, today and every day. As we navigate the challenges posed by the Trump Administration's issuance of a broad 60-day Jones Act waiver under 46 USC 501(a), we are working full-out to mitigate negative impacts on AWO members in the short term and leverage this situation to strengthen the Jones Act's long-term future. We are working side by side with the American Maritime Partnership, the pro-Jones Act domestic maritime industry coalition that I chair, to ensure effective and coordinated advocacy across our entire industry. As AWO members, you have an important role to play in this all-hands-on-deck operation, and we're committed to providing the information you need to engage effectively. Here's what you can do now:

• Join us Tuesday, April 7 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern for a members-only virtual meeting to discuss the latest developments and get your questions answered. This is a sensitive and evolving situation and written communications have their limits in such circumstances. Use this link to register on your member dashboard. Have issues you want to flag ahead of time for conversation? Feel free to email me anytime.
• Make plans now to attend the AWO Spring Convention and Barge-In. If ever there was a time to make your voice heard on Capitol Hill, this is it. Let's make this the biggest, most geographically and operationally representative Barge-In we've ever had. We'll provide talking points and a thorough pre-brief before Barge-In, but please make your travel plans ASAP. You can register here.
• Share information on what you're seeing in your markets and hearing from your sources about foreign vessel fixtures, capacity issues, etc. Good situational awareness is important to the success of our advocacy and our friends on Capitol Hill are hungry for information. We are highly sensitive to confidentiality and antitrust concerns and will work with you to ensure that any information you share with us is deployed with care.
• Stand by for opportunities to support public affairs initiatives, including op-eds and social media campaigns, highlighting the importance of the Jones Act to American mariners, workers -- and voters.

Here's what you should know now:

• What is AWO saying about the waiver? Read our statement here. We are committed to speaking truth to power and pushing back hard against unnecessary waivers, without personalizing the issue or picking fights with an Administration with which we share important goals. (Restoring American Maritime Dominance? Yes! And this waiver isn't the way to get there.)
• What is AWO doing about the waiver? We'll share more detail on the April 7 member call, but the short answer is: fanning out on Capitol Hill to take our case to lawmakers of both parties, and to learn what they're hearing/thinking/concerned about, and doing the same with Trump Administration officials. Earlier this week, AWO's Executive Committee held a very productive meeting with Maritime Administrator Captain Stephen Carmel, whose agency will play an important role in the public disclosure requirements triggered by use of the waiver. (More on that below.)
• What is a 501(a) waiver anyway? A 501(a) waiver occurs when the Secretary of War deems it necessary in the interest of national defense to address an immediate adverse effect on military operations. Within 24 hours, the Secretary must provide the Congressional committees of jurisdiction with a written explanation of the circumstances requiring such a waiver, including a confirmation that there are insufficient qualified vessels to meet the needs of national defense without a waiver. Unlike a waiver issued under 46 USC 501(b), however, there is no requirement for MarAd to survey or determine vessel availability, there is no statutory time limit on a 501(a) waiver, and there is no proscription against blanket waivers.
• Is this really about national defense, or is it about gas prices? Thanks to legislation AMP helped pass several years ago, there are new oversight and public disclosure requirements that will help shine a light on the justification for and impacts of the waiver. Under 46 USC 501(c), not later than 10 days after the conclusion of a voyage conducted under a waiver, the owner or operator of the vessel and the individual requesting the waiver must submit a report to the Maritime Administration that provides details about the vessel, the owner, the voyage, the cargo, and an explanation of why the waiver was in the interest of national defense. This information will be made publicly available on the MarAd website and subject to public and Congressional scrutiny.
• Speaking of gas prices, what are the experts saying? A study commissioned by AMP found that the maximum impact of a Jones Act waiver on the U.S. average gasoline price at the pump would be about $0.0027 per gallon, well less than a penny a gallon. Other analysts agree, as recent news reports have highlighted. Indeed, even the CATO Institute's most prolific Jones Act critic has conceded that "While waiving the Jones Act could help lower prices somewhat, the impacts are apt to be limited."  AWO is working with AMP to track changes in gas prices throughout the waiver term so that we can demonstrate clearly that the Jones Act is not the problem, and waiving the Jones Act is not the solution.
• Do foreign vessels using a waiver have to comply with other U.S. laws, such as tax and immigration laws? This is not a question to be taken lightly by prospective users of a waiver, as this analysis by AWO affiliate member K&L Gates points out.
• Did anything else happen on the Jones Act this week? Yes, and it's good news: Monday was the deadline for Koloa Rum, the company that recently challenged the constitutionality of the Jones Act, to appeal the federal district court ruling that soundly dismissed its claims. The company did not file an appeal, so the district court's strong decision stands. (AMP joined the case as an intervenor alongside the Department of Justice and AWO members financially supported this win.)

Thanks for reading. We are committed to fighting hard and smart for you as we navigate this situation together.

Jennifer Carpenter
AWO President & CEO