Industry News

Senator McCain Proposes to Repeal the Jones Act

January 15, 2015


    On Tuesday January 13, 2015, Senator John McCain filed legislation to repeal the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, also known as the Jones Act.  According to the Senator’s press release, the Act “requires that all goods shipped between waterborne ports of the United States be carried by vessels built in the United States and owned and operated by Americans.”  Additionally, Senator McCain stated, “it costs $6 per barrel to move crude from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast United States on a Jones Act tanker, while a foreign-flag tanker can take that same crude to a refinery in Canada for $2 per barrel.”  Therefore, he states that the “antiquated” law harms the U.S. economy and drives prices up.  

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