The United States is one of many nations that protects its domestic transportation industries through cabotage laws. These laws reserve to U.S.-flagged vessels the right to transport cargo and passengers between U.S. ports.
Cabotage has a long history in the United States.
The current cabotage statute for transportation of cargo is the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 and its amendments popularly known as the Jones Act. The statute covering cabotage as it applies to passengers is known as the Passenger Services Act and became law in 1886. First, cabotage laws protect national defense interests by preserving both an active merchant marine and a domestic shipbuilding industry. In the past, both industries proved vital to the efficient prosecution of national defense interests during times of war. Those advocating reform of the cabotage laws take issue with these points.