Recent news stories and editorials have reignited the debate over the Jones Act, the century-old maritime law requiring that goods transported between U.S. ports be carried on American-built, American-owned, and American-crewed ships. 

Opponents, including Hawai‘i Congressman Ed Case and the corporate-backed Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, have claimed that the Jones Act drives up prices and limits economic opportunity for island residents. But these arguments fail to hold water. Here’s what you need to know:

 Myth #1: The Jones Act Bars Foreign Vessels from Importing Goods Directly to Hawai’i. 

A common misconception is that only Jones Act-compliant vessels can dock in Hawai‘i. This is false. Foreign-flagged ships regularly arrive in Hawai‘i carrying internationally sourced goods. The Jones Act only applies to trade between U.S. ports, meaning that it cannot load goods from an American port and deliver them to another American port. But goods from Asia, Europe, and elsewhere can—and do—arrive on foreign vessels without restriction, directly from other countries and offload goods in Hawaiʻi for Hawaiʻi’s consumption. Foreign-flagged vessels are not prohibited from bringing goods into Hawai‘i. 

In fact, in 2017, 61.3% of all ocean freight moving through Hawai‘i was carried by foreign ships engaged in international trade. The Jones Act does not dictate what Hawai‘i can import— it ensures that domestic shipping remains stable, secure, and beneficial to local workers.

Myth #2: The Jones Act Raises Prices for Hawai‘i Residents

One of the most persistent claims against the Jones Act is that it increases the cost of goods in Hawai‘i. However, a comprehensive 2020 study by Reeve & Associates and TZ Economics found that this is simply not true. 

Their survey compared the prices of 200 consumer goods—including groceries, household items, clothing, and automobiles—at major retailers like Costco, Home Depot, Target, and Walmart in both Honolulu and Los Angeles. The results showed that prices in Hawai‘i were, on average, only 0.5% higher than on the mainland, a negligible difference that cannot be attributed to the Jones Act alone. 

In fact, 142 out of 200 items had identical prices in Hawai‘i and California, and for those that did cost more in Hawai‘i, competition between retailers often brought them back in line with mainland prices.

The study also found that shipping rates between the continental U.S. and Hawai‘i have remained flat over the last decade, even declining in real terms. By contrast, mainland trucking rates have increased by 28% in the same period. This means that Jones Act carriers have maintained steady and predictable shipping costs, helping to stabilize consumer prices rather than inflate them. 

The real culprits behind Hawai‘i’s high cost of living? Housing, fuel, utilities, and medical care. These factors far outweigh the cost of shipping goods under the Jones Act. Blaming the Jones Act for expensive groceries or household items ignores the reality of Hawai‘i’s economic landscape. 

Myth #3: Shipping Competition Guarantees Lower Prices for Hawaiʻi 

The claim that the Jones Act inflates prices in Hawai‘i by limiting competition ignores the reality of global shipping markets. While critics argue that allowing more foreign carriers would lower costs, history shows that foreign shipping companies exploit crises to maximize profits, unlike the Jones Act fleet, which operates under stable regulations ensuring fair pricing. 

In late 2023 and early 2024, exempt from the Jones Act, major international carriers hiked rates far beyond actual cost increases—South Korean carrier HMM saw a 1,664% profit surge, and Japanese carrier ONE rose 969%. Shipping giants like Maersk and CMA CGM similarly exploited geopolitical instability, driving up prices even as fuel and operational costs remained steady. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these same foreign alliances— controlling 91% of transpacific trade—tripled or quadrupled profits, imposed arbitrary fees, and prioritized empty containers over U.S. exports 

The Jones Act fleet, bound by U.S. regulations, forbids such profiteering, maintaining stable, predictable costs tied to real expenses rather than speculation. Without the Jones Act, Hawai‘i would be vulnerable to the unchecked pricing power of foreign oligopolies that prioritize shareholders over Hawai ʻi consumers. Rather than inflating prices, the law protects Hawai‘i from the extreme price gouging that dominates international shipping. 

Myth #4: The More Shipping Carriers, The Merrier 

The idea that allowing more shipping carriers into Hawai‘i would improve service and lower costs ignores the unique realities of island logistics. Unlike mainland ports with vast storage capacity, Hawai‘i operates on a just-in-time shipping model, relying on frequent deliveries rather than mass warehousing. This system is by design—land is limited, and the community has chosen not to devote scarce space to sprawling distribution centers or massive stockpiles of imported goods. 

Hawai‘i’s port infrastructure is built to match the state’s actual consumption needs. The volume of imports and the number of dock spaces align with what the population requires, ensuring efficient turnover without unnecessary congestion. Simply adding more carriers would not lower costs but instead create logistical bottlenecks, increasing competition for limited dock space without increasing overall demand.

 More importantly, the push for endless import expansion contradicts Hawai‘i’s values. The islands are not looking to become a hub for big-box retail domination or excessive consumerism. Instead, the long-term goal is to reduce reliance on imports, strengthen local food systems, and build greater self-sufficiency. Rather than flooding the market with excess goods, Hawai‘i must focus on sustainability—investing in local production, renewable resources, and economic models that prioritize resilience over unchecked expansion. 

The Benefits of the Jones Act for Hawai‘i 

It is important that Hawaiʻi’s people, and especially ILWU members, are educated about the ways that the Jones Act serves us. 

Protection from Shipping Price Gouging – Unlike unregulated global shipping giants, Jones Act carriers operate under consistent pricing structures. During the pandemic, international shipping conglomerates like Maersk engaged in extreme price gouging, sending global freight costs soaring. Jones Act carriers, however, did not engage in this practice, ensuring that Hawai‘i consumers and businesses were shielded from the worst of the shipping crisis. 

Reliable Supply Chains During Disasters – The Jones Act ensures that Hawai‘i has dedicated, regularly scheduled domestic shipping. During the pandemic, non-Jones Act ships were stuck in massive backlogs outside ports like Los Angeles for weeks, while Jones Act carriers continued delivering essential goods to Hawai‘i without delay. The infamous toilet paper shortages had nothing to do with shipping disruptions—it was a result of panic buying and hoarding. 

Environmental Protection – Jones Act ships must comply with strict U.S. environmental laws, reducing pollution and protecting Hawai‘i’s harbors and marine life. By contrast, many foreign-flagged vessels operate under weak or non-existent environmental regulations, increasing the risk of oil spills, ballast water contamination, and other ecological disasters. The world’s oceans have seen disastrous chemical spills from non-Jones Act vessels that are purposefully flagged in the most unregulated countries. 

Sustainable Import Levels – Hawai‘ i’s infrastructure is built around container shipping. Its limited land availability means there is no room for massive warehouses. The Jones Act ensures that shipments remain at sustainable levels that match Hawai‘i’s logistical capacity, preventing supply chain chaos. 

Preservation of Local Maritime Jobs – The Jones Act supports 13,000 jobs in Hawai‘i’s domestic maritime industry, contributing $787 million annually in worker income. These are high-quality, union-protected jobs in stevedoring, piloting, and ship crewing— industries that have been part of Hawai‘i’s economy for more than 200 years. Without the Jones Act, these jobs would be lost to exploitative global shipping corporations that rely on low-wage labor.

Who’s Behind the Anti-Jones Act Campaign? 

Much of the opposition to the Jones Act is not grassroots, but rather backed by powerful corporate interests seeking to weaken labor protections and deregulate shipping. The Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi, one of the loudest voices calling for the repeal of the Jones Act, is funded by mainland think tanks like the Koch Brothers’ network and the Heritage Foundation. These groups promote an extreme free-market ideology that prioritizes corporate profits over worker protections, environmental regulations, and national security. 

The Grassroots Institute has pushed a successful propaganda campaign against the Jones Act for years. Many people in Hawai’i believe they oppose the Jones Act because they have been provided with little alternative to the lies put out by this corporate-backed “think tank”. These are predatory politics that feed off of people’s very real struggles to survive here and they promote a false ideology—that handing all power to the “free-market” is the answer to working people’s problems. If that were true, we wouldn’t need unions. 

Corporate interests that oppose labor and environmental regulations meant to protect working people and our oceans do not have our best interests in mind. 

Repealing the Jones Act wouldn’t lower prices or create economic opportunities—it would hand control of Hawai‘i’s supply chain to the lowest-bidding, least-regulated global shipping firms. Once those firms gained control of the market in Hawai’i, nothing stopped them from then gouging shipping prices, which is prohibited by the Jones Act. 

Defending Hawai‘i’s Future The real threat isn’t the Jones Act— it’s the corporate-driven push for deregulation that would strip Hawai‘i of its ability to control its own supply chain and protect local jobs. 

As Hawai‘i faces increasing challenges, from climate change to economic uncertainty, now is the time to strengthen our maritime protections, not dismantle them. The Jones Act ensures that Hawai‘i’s working families—not international shipping conglomerates—remain at the heart of our economy.