The case for retaining the Jones Act rests partly on the commercial shipbuilding capacity it preserves. American merchant construction remains weak, but the policy is credited with maintaining more capacity and scope for expansion than some other countries retain. America's size gives it room to support domestic construction requirements. Britain can still build warships and small craft, yet has little capacity for large oceangoing merchant ships and often looks abroad for ferry construction. Merchant-ship profit margins are also thin, with South Korea cited as an example of the industry's difficult economics.
Notable Point · 1:06:07-1:08:31
The Jones Act preserves a limited American shipbuilding base
Criticism of the Jones Act should account for the domestic merchant yards and scaling potential that its protected trade still sustains.