![Shipyard and shipping containers](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/optimized/public/raslider/201806_jonesact_hp.jpg?itok=R7bz0BvT) # Project on Jones Act Reform At a Glance Since 1920 the Jones Act has mandated that the sea transport of cargo between U.S. ports must be performed by vessels that are U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, U.S. flagged, and U.S.-crewed. Justified on national security grounds, the law was meant to ensure a strong maritime sector to bolster U.S. capabilities in times of war or national emergency. These envisioned benefits, however, have proved illusory while the Jones Act has imposed a very real and ongoing economic burden. Despite this, the law survives thanks to well‐​connected supporters and ignorance of the Jones Act and its costs by the general public. The Cato Institute aims to shake up this status quo by shining a spotlight on the Jones Act’s myriad negative impacts and exposing its alleged benefits as entirely hollow. By systematically laying bare the truth about this over 100 year old failed law, the Cato Institute Project on Jones Act Reform is meant to raise public awareness and lay the groundwork for its repeal or reform. Subscribe to the JOnes Act email newsletter Join the Conversation [\#EndTheJonesAct](https://x.com/hashtag/EndTheJonesAct) Share This Topic #### Featured Content [![oil tanker jones](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2023-12/oil%20tanker%20ship%203.jpg?itok=mTjhW5dW)](https://www.cato.org/jones-act-waiver-tracker) ## [Jones Act Waiver Tracker](/jones-act-waiver-tracker) On March 17, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security issued the longest and broadest waiver of the Jones Act since at least 1950. This interactive dashboard tracks the substantial economic activity that has emerged since the waiver was issued. [![LNG tanker ](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2024-01/LNG%20tanker%20.jpg?itok=Ow8DdVBX)](https://www.cato.org/blog/jones-act-waiver-data-reveals-universe-blocked-american-trade) blog ### [Waiver Data Reveal How the Jones Act Blocks American Trade](/blog/jones-act-waiver-data-reveals-universe-blocked-american-trade) By [Colin Grabow](https://www.cato.org/people/colin-grabow) A new interactive infographic tracking all 45 voyages completed under the Trump administration’s March 2026 Jones Act waiver helps reveal the scale of domestic maritime trade that the 1920 law has long suppressed. [![Jones Act Reform Project Page Hover Card](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-02/GettyImages-2153829073.jpg?itok=8Xj8cJCF)](https://www.cato.org/commentary/defenders-jones-act-have-lost) Commentary ### [Defenders of the Jones Act Have Lost](/commentary/defenders-jones-act-have-lost) By [Scott Lincicome](https://www.cato.org/people/scott-lincicome) For more than a century, the Jones Act has survived on purported economic and security grounds. [![affordability - grocery store](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2026-04/GettyImages-1438715659.jpg?itok=j-DU8kfv)](https://www.cato.org/commentary/our-government-ignoring-obvious-affordability-solutions) Commentary ### [Our Government Is Ignoring Obvious Affordability Solutions](/commentary/our-government-ignoring-obvious-affordability-solutions) By [Scott Lincicome](https://www.cato.org/people/scott-lincicome) Real affordability fixes also often require politicians to admit that past government policy – often *their* policy (or their party’s) – made things worse. [![trade policy - ships](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2025-07/GettyImages-591986620.jpeg?itok=VBeFXRu_)](https://www.cato.org/blog/60-minutes-us-shipbuilding-jones-act) blog ### [*60 Minutes* on US Shipbuilding and the Jones Act](/blog/60-minutes-us-shipbuilding-jones-act) By [Colin Grabow](https://www.cato.org/people/colin-grabow) Some thoughts on a recent *60 Minutes* piece that addressed both the lowly state of US commercial shipbuilding and problems caused by the Jones Act. [View More Related Content](/search/topic/27474) [![Wrecked Ship](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/promo_block/public/2019-11/GettyImages-529575649.jpg?itok=kDQgbr2J)](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/rust-buckets-how-jones-act-undermines-us-shipbuilding-national-security) ##### Featured Policy Analysis ### [Rust Buckets: How the Jones Act Undermines U.S. Shipbuilding and National Security](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/rust-buckets-how-jones-act-undermines-us-shipbuilding-national-security) Since its inception, supporters of the Jones Act have claimed that the law is essential to U.S. national security. Although indefensible on economic grounds, Jones Act advocates argue that its restrictions promote the development of both a U.S. merchant marine and shipbuilding and repair capability that can be utilized by the country’s military in times of war. This rationale appears to be more of an article of faith than the product of rigorous analysis. [Read Article](/policy-analysis/rust-buckets-how-jones-act-undermines-us-shipbuilding-national-security) #### Meet Our Experts [![Colin Grabow](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/bio_picture_mobile/public/2021-01/Colin%20Grabow.jpg?itok=4AdaK5_L)](/people/colin-grabow) ##### [Colin Grabow](/people/colin-grabow) Associate Director, Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies [![Scott Lincicome cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/bio_picture_mobile/public/2023-10/scott-lincicome-square.jpg?itok=a5RaMdZx)](/people/scott-lincicome) ##### [Scott Lincicome](/people/scott-lincicome) Vice President, General Economics and Stiefel Trade Policy Center