NEW ORLEANS, March 12, 2026 — The Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) cautioned that waiving the Jones Act will not lower costs for American consumers but will undermine American jobs and long-term investment in the U.S. maritime industry.
“Waiving the Jones Act in an attempt to address raising fuel prices won’t work and it will jeopardize American jobs, U.S. tax revenue, and the future of the American maritime industry,” said Aaron Smith, President of OMSA. “Even Jones Act opponents are questioning if a waiver will lower gas prices, which underscores their real objective here: not to reduce costs for consumers, but to advance a long-standing effort to replace hardworking U.S. workers with foreign crews in our own domestic trade.”
The American maritime sector, from offshore service vessels to tankers, shipyards, and mariners, functions as an interconnected industrial base. Even temporary actions that weaken Jones Act enforcement in one market segment will ripple across the sector by raising questions about the reliability of the policy framework that supports U.S.-flag vessels and American mariners.
Waiving the Jones Act would incentivize the United States to rely on foreign vessels, including those from nations that do not share our interests or values, to move critical energy supplies. That is not a solution. That is a vulnerability.”
Aaron Smith, President of OMSA.
The Trump Administration has rightfully and strongly supported the U.S. maritime industry by producing a first-of-its-kind Maritime Action Plan (MAP). OMSA strongly supported this measure to increase our national, homeland, and economic security by making investments in U.S. shipyards and job creation. We don’t want to see that leadership undermined by those who seek to replace good-paying U.S. jobs with underpaid foreign nationals.
“Anytime the Jones Act is waived, it sends a signal to companies considering investments in U.S. vessels, shipyards, and the American workforce,” Smith concluded. “If the goal is to strengthen America’s maritime capability and supply chain resilience, policymakers should be reinforcing that foundation, not weakening confidence in it.”
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About the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA)
The Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) OMSA is the advocate for the offshore marine transportation service industry in the United States. The Association represents 170-member companies and their 12,000 U.S. employees based throughout the U.S.
Media Contact:
Anna Stallmann
omsa@ascentcomms.com