[![Colin Grabow](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/bio_picture_mobile/public/2021-01/Colin%20Grabow.jpg?itok=4AdaK5_L)](https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2021-01/Colin-Grabow.jpg) 

[Policy Scholars](/experts) 

# Colin Grabow 

Associate Director, Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies

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Colin Grabow is an Associate Director at the Cato Institute’s [Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies](https://www.cato.org/herbert-stiefel-center-trade-policy-studies) where his research focuses on domestic forms of trade protectionism such as the Jones Act and the U.S. sugar program.

His writings have been published in a number of outlets, including *USA Today*, *The Hill*, *National Review*, and the *Wall Street Journal*.

Prior to joining the Cato Institute, he performed political and economic analysis for a Japan-based trading and investment firm and published research and analysis for an international affairs consulting firm with a focus on U.S.-Asia relations.

Grabow holds a BA in international affairs from James Madison University and an MA in international trade and investment policy from George Washington University.

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#### Featured Work 

[![Wrecked Ship](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2019-11/GettyImages-529575649.jpg?itok=hflpa-Ov)](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/rust-buckets-how-jones-act-undermines-us-shipbuilding-national-security) 

Study 

## [Rust Buckets: How the Jones Act Undermines U.S. Shipbuilding and National Security](/policy-analysis/rust-buckets-how-jones-act-undermines-us-shipbuilding-national-security) 

By [Colin Grabow](https://www.cato.org/people/colin-grabow) 

Policymakers must consider either major reform of the law or outright repeal.

[![](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-06/Cato%20Podcast_16x9.jpg?itok=sqIRrOPf)](https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-daily-podcast/case-against-jones-act) 

Cato Weekly Podcast 

### [*The Case against the Jones Act*](/multimedia/cato-daily-podcast/case-against-jones-act) 

Featuring [Colin Grabow](https://www.cato.org/people/colin-grabow), [Inu Manak](https://www.cato.org/people/inu-manak), and [Caleb O. Brown](https://www.cato.org/people/caleb-o-brown) 

The Jones Act, little studied but incredibly costly to Americans, has been on the books for 100 years. A new Cato Institute book, [*The Case against the Jones Act*](https://www.cato.org/books/case-against-jones-act), takes aim at this destructive protectionist policy. Colin Grabow and Inu Manak are the book’s editors.

[![The Case against the Jones Act cover](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/promo_block/public/2020-06/9781948647991_FC.jpg?itok=AG9jIrmU)](https://www.cato.org/books/case-against-jones-act) 

##### Related Book 

### [The Case Against The Jones Act](https://www.cato.org/books/case-against-jones-act)

Passed in 1920, the Jones Act restricts the waterborne transport of cargo within the United States to vessels that are U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed, U.S.-owned, and U.S.-built. Meant to bolster the U.S. maritime sector, this protectionist law has instead contributed to its decline. As a result, today’s U.S. oceangoing domestic fleet numbers fewer than 100 ships. The chapters in *The Case against the Jones Act* delve into some of the act’s founding myths and the false narrative its supporters have helped to perpetuate. The book evaluates the law’s costs, assesses its impact on businesses, consumers, and the environment, and offers alternatives for a way forward. 

**Learn more about the Cato Institute’s [Project on Jones Act Reform](https://www.cato.org/project-jones-act-reform) or join the conversation on Twitter. [\#EndTheJonesAct](https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndTheJonesAct)**

[Purchase Book](https://www.cato.org/books/case-against-jones-act)