<p dir="ltr">We need to do a better job communicating the facts — that the US-flag maritime sector provides nearly 500,000 middle-class American jobs and generates nearly $100 billion in economic output; that it enhances national security by ensuring the availability of qualified seafarers, ships, and intermodal assets for times of war or national emergency; and that it provides the industrial base vital to defense shipbuilding, maintenance, and repair. We also need to dispel the myths — the Jones Act does not drive the cost of shipping goods to remote places like Puerto Rico or require that all goods arrive on US ships.</p>
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Matthew J. Cox, Chairman and CEO, Matson

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