The American Maritime Partnership (AMP) has launched a national advertising and outreach campaign urging President Donald Trump to end the administration’s ongoing 150-day Jones Act waiver, arguing the measure is harming U.S. maritime jobs, investment, and shipyard activity.
AMP announced the campaign May 26, saying it will target major maritime states including Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee through television, connected TV, radio, and digital advertising.
The campaign centers on opposition to the administration’s Jones Act waiver, which allows certain foreign-flag vessels to transport cargo between U.S. ports. The Jones Act requires vessels engaged in domestic trade to be U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, and U.S.-crewed.
The waiver has also drawn scrutiny from lawmakers on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. On May 15, Ranking Member Rick Larsen and Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Ranking Member Salud Carbajal sent a letter to President Trump questioning the administration’s use of the waiver authority.
In the letter, the lawmakers said the waiver and its extension threaten the domestic maritime industry and conflict with the administration’s America’s Maritime Action Plan, which calls for greater use of U.S.-built vessels and shipyards. The lawmakers also said the committee intends to conduct oversight into whether voyages conducted under the waiver complied with U.S. law.
Larsen and Carbajal requested information from the administration regarding how each waiver voyage directly supported military operations, what market surveys or other analysis were used to determine that qualified U.S.-flag vessels were unavailable, and a copy of the waiver text itself.
According to AMP, the waiver has provided minimal impact on fuel prices while allowing foreign operators to participate in domestic energy transportation routes traditionally reserved for U.S. operators. The group cited independent analysis estimating the waiver reduced fuel prices by approximately $0.000157 per gallon and said fuel moved under the waiver during its first 60 days represented about 11 hours of national fuel consumption.
AMP also said broker data showed U.S.-flag vessels were available for roughly 90% of the waiver voyages completed so far.
The organization contends the waiver is creating uncertainty across the domestic maritime industry and has already affected investment decisions. AMP said one maritime investment platform paused a planned $1 billion capital raise tied to U.S. maritime projects, placing more than $2.6 billion in active U.S. shipyard contracts at risk along with additional planned expansion projects.
The campaign includes advertisements featuring U.S. mariners and Jones Act vessel operators. AMP said it also plans to connect local maritime workers and operators with media outlets to discuss the waiver’s impact on jobs, shipbuilding investment, and national security.
Jennifer Carpenter, president of AMP, said the waiver conflicts with broader “buy American” and domestic industrial policies by allowing foreign operators and crews to move U.S. cargoes. Carpenter also argued the waiver has not produced meaningful reductions in gasoline prices.
AMP represents a coalition of domestic maritime operators, shipyards, labor organizations, and related businesses tied to the U.S.-flag maritime industry.
