How Jones Act reform can work for everyone (Oahu)

Is there a way to make everybody happy in the hotly contested Jones Act debate?

That will be the question at hand when Jones Act expert Colin Grabow comes to Hawaii next month for two luncheon forums sponsored by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii.

Grabow is a Grassroot Scholar, trade policy analyst at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., and one of the nation’s leading experts on the 102-year-old federal maritime law, which, among other things, restricts shipping competition to Hawaii and causes higher prices.

Technically Section 27 of the 1920 Merchant Marine Act, the law requires that all goods transported between U.S. ports be on ships that are U.S. flagged and built, and mostly owned and crewed by Americans.

Jones Act supporters argue that it protects national security and boosts the domestic maritime industry. Critics argue that it has failed in those goals and is a significant economic burden.

At the forums on Oahu and Maui, Grabow will discuss how reform of the Jones Act — rather than all-out repeal or keeping the law the same — might be the way to appease both sides in this contentious debate.

The Oahu forum will take place Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the Japanese Cultural Center in Honolulu, starting at 11:30 a.m. Admission is $30 and includes lunch and parking.

The discussions at both gatherings will start at noon and end around 1 p.m. They will include questions from the audience.

Keli‘i Akina, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii president and CEO, will moderate.

Space is limited, so please register early. For more information, please contact Sean Mitsui at 808-864-1776 or info@grassrootinstitute.org.