《琼斯法案》这项联邦海运法律的捍卫者称，中国扩张的威胁是继续保留其保护主义规定的一个理由。他们表示，如果削弱《琼斯法案》，中国船只会掌控美国航运航线。遗憾的是，对他们而言，这一论点站不住脚——事实上，近期发生的事件有力表明，改革《琼斯法案》可能让全美民众受益。这项1920年颁布的法律规定，在美国不同地点之间运送货物的船只必须悬挂美国国旗并在美国建造，而且大部分所有权和船员须为美国人。
Defenders of the federal maritime law known as the Jones Act contend that the threat of Chinese expansion is a reason to keep its protectionist regulations in place. If the Jones Act were pared back, they say, Chinese vessels would take over U.S. shipping lanes. Unfortunately for them, this argument does not hold water — in fact, recent events strongly indicate that reforming the Jones Act could benefit Americans across the country. The 1920 law mandates that ships delivering goods from one U.S. point to another be flagged and built in the U.S. and mostly owned and crewed by Americans.
但自3月17日起，该法对燃料和化肥运输暂停适用。特朗普总统最初以与伊朗冲突有关的国家安全理由，对该法实施60天豁免，随后又将豁免延长90天。8月10日，他再次将豁免延长90天，不过此次增加了更多条件，并缩小了符合豁免条件的燃料和化肥清单。允许某些货物在全国范围内自由运输后，实际情况所提供的数据表明，《琼斯法案》的限制一直在制约美国航运格局。
But the law has been suspended for shipments of fuel and fertilizer since March 17. President Trump initially waived the law for 60 days, citing national security reasons related to the conflict in Iran. He later extended the waiver for another 90 days. On Aug. 10, he extended it for yet another 90 days, although this time with more conditions and a more limited list of fuels and fertilizers that qualify for the waiver.
截至9月17日，已有200艘船利用该豁免完成了259次航程，在美国国内运送天然气、石油和其他商品——如果没有这项豁免，这些航次根本不会发生。更值得注意的是，在依据豁免完成的航次中，只有7次、占比不到3%，是由一家中国公司拥有的船舶执行的。与此同时，截至8月31日，由丹麦、希腊、日本和新加坡公司拥有的船舶占豁免运输航次的50%。来自瑞士、摩纳哥等少数其他国家的航运公司完成了约20%的航次。
Allowing certain shipments to move freely around the country has produced real-world data showing how the Jones Act restrictions have been limiting U.S. shipping patterns. As of Sept. 17, 200 ships have used the waiver to complete 259 voyages delivering gas, oil and other commodities within the U.S. — trips that would not have happened without it. Perhaps more noteworthy is that just seven of the voyages completed under the waiver, or less than 3 percent, were made by ships owned by a Chinese company. Meanwhile, ships owned by companies based in Denmark, Greece, Japan and Singapore made up 50 percent of the waiver movements as of Aug. 31.
但即使是运营的船舶未能满足《琼斯法案》全部四项要求的美国国内企业，也从这一前所未有的豁免期中获益：豁免期内约25%的货物由总部设在美国的承运企业运输。此外，这些豁免货物使美国企业、消费者和农民更容易获得美国制造的产品。九批无水氨——一种关键化肥成分——在墨西哥湾沿岸各港口之间运输。如果没有这项豁免，这些货物运输根本不可能实现，因为《琼斯法案》船队中没有任何液化石油气运输船。
Shipping companies from a smattering of other countries, such as Switzerland and Monaco, have completed about 20 percent of the voyages. But even domestic companies operating ships that don’t meet all four of the Jones Act’s requirements have benefited from this unprecedented waiver period: About 25 percent of shipments under the waiver have been moved by carriers headquartered in the U.S. Moreover, these waiver shipments have given U.S. companies, consumers and farmers more access to U.S.-made products. Nine shipments of anhydrous ammonia — a key fertilizer component — traveled between ports on the Gulf Coast. These shipments would have been impossible without the waiver because not a single liquified petroleum gas tanker exists in the Jones Act fleet.
出于同样原因，这项豁免也让波多黎各等偏远地区受益，使原本在正常情况下无法进行的丙烷散装运输成为可能。同样，夏威夷州5月收到一船从休斯敦运来的燃料，7月底又从墨西哥湾沿岸运来两船。该州还根据豁免政策收到一船丙烷，满足了今年截至目前超过一半的丙烷需求。豁免期迄今为止的结果清楚表明，如果没有《琼斯法案》的供应限制，美国企业会购买更多国内产品。
For the same reason, the waiver has also benefited outlying areas such as Puerto Rico, allowing bulk shipments of propane that would be impossible under normal circumstances. Similarly, Hawaii received one shipment of fuel from Houston in May and two others from the Gulf Coast at the end of July. The state also received a shipment of propane under the waiver, which fulfilled more than half of its propane needs so far this year. The results of the waiver period so far show clearly that U.S. companies would buy more domestic products if Jones Act supply restrictions weren’t in the way.
尽管如此，《琼斯法案》的支持者仍坚称，修改该法会使中国而非美国获益。豁免数据否定了这一说法，但还有其他理由值得怀疑这一说法。例如，夏威夷经常从不受《琼斯法案》约束的船舶接收货物。这些货物最常由总部位于日本、新加坡和希腊的公司旗下船舶运往夏威夷。只有区区7%的货物由中国或香港企业拥有的船舶运抵檀香山。
Still, Jones Act defenders insist that amending the law would advantage China over U.S. interests. The waiver data belies this claim, but there are also other reasons to doubt it. For instance, Hawaii frequently receives goods from ships that are not subject to the Jones Act. Those goods most often travel to Hawaii on ships owned by companies headquartered in Japan, Singapore and Greece. A mere 7 percent arrive in Honolulu on vessels owned by Chinese or Hong Kong corporations.
此外，美属维尔京群岛从未受到《琼斯法案》约束，该岛所需美国货物主要由总部设在美国的承运企业Crowley和Tropical Shipping所属船舶运送。因此，即使是在美国国内运输，在《琼斯法案》适用范围之外合法进行的越境运输并非由中国企业主导。议员们不应把中国当作维持有害现状的借口，而可以通过仅允许与美国盟友有关的船舶参与国内航运来应对安全担忧。
Furthermore, the U.S. Virgin Islands, which has never been subject to the Jones Act, receives U.S. cargo primarily on ships owned by the U.S.-based carriers Crowley and Tropical Shipping. So even shipping within U.S. borders conducted legally outside the purview of the Jones Act is not dominated by Chinese companies. Rather than use China as an excuse to preserve a harmful status quo, lawmakers could address security concerns by opening domestic shipping only to ships associated with U.S. allies.
这仍将扩大美国企业和消费者的运输选择，同时加强美国与欧洲及东亚盟友的伙伴关系。随着现行豁免规定将于11月15日到期，国会和特朗普应着手改革该法律，使其更好地服务美国人民。乔纳森·赫尔顿是夏威夷草根研究所的政策分析师。
This would still expand transportation options for American businesses and consumers, as well as bolster U.S. partnerships with European and East Asian allies. With the current waiver set to expire Nov. 15, Congress and Trump should look to reform the law to better serve the American people. Jonathan Helton is a policy analyst at the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii.