The US domestic civilian shipbuilding doesn't exist. It's dead and already smelling.
For example, the Washington state needs new ferries, and their cost is literally almost 10x than the cost for the similar ferries produced in Turkey for the nearby Vancouver, BC. With this kind of cost gap, there is simply nobody who would buy the US ships unless they _have_ to.
Without the Jones Act, the shipbuilders would have adapted long ago to produce high-margin high-tech components for the ships for the international market. And likely in larger quantities than they do currently.
For example, the Washington state needs new ferries, and their cost is literally almost 10x than the cost for the similar ferries produced in Turkey for the nearby Vancouver, BC. With this kind of cost gap, there is simply nobody who would buy the US ships unless they _have_ to.
Without the Jones Act, the shipbuilders would have adapted long ago to produce high-margin high-tech components for the ships for the international market. And likely in larger quantities than they do currently.