The American Maritime Partnership (AMP) is actively campaigning for the US administration to revoke the current 150-day waiver of the Jones Act. The organization asserts that this waiver is detrimental to the American maritime sector, specifically undermining domestic jobs, businesses, and shipbuilding capabilities.
For freight forwarders and operations managers, the Jones Act waiver, or its potential termination, directly influences domestic shipping options and costs. The Jones Act mandates that cargo transported between U.S. ports must be carried on vessels that are American-built, American-owned, American-crewed, and American-flagged. Waivers, typically granted in emergencies, allow foreign-flagged vessels to carry such cargo. Ending the waiver would likely reduce available capacity for domestic routes, potentially leading to increased shipping costs and longer transit times for cargo moving within the U.S., as reliance shifts back to the more limited Jones Act-compliant fleet. Forwarders would need to factor this into their domestic logistics planning and pricing for clients.
