2014 Hawaii Governor's race: on Free Trade


Neil Abercrombie: Allow foreign ships to unload in Hawaii en route to US

When large container ships leave China for the U.S., they don't stop in Hawaii to unload cargo bound for that state before continuing to Los Angeles or Seattle. Under a 93-year-old US law, the Jones Act, only US-made, US-flagged ships can deliver goods between US ports. If a Chinese ship stopped in Hawaii to drop-off cargo, and then picked up, say, a load of Hawaiian coffee, it could not unload that coffee in another US port. Chinese-made goods to be sold in Hawaii are routinely unloaded on the West Coast, and then loaded back onto another US ship for the 2,500 mile trip back to the island state.

Passed in 1920 by isolationist lawmakers, the act was meant to protect the nation's shipping industry from foreign competition. Rep. Djou proposed an exemption to allow some foreign vessels to carry cargo between the US & Hawaii. Djou couldn't muster support for the bill. "It went nowhere," he says. Djou lost his reelection bid to Colleen Hanabusa (D), who enthusiastically supports the Jones Act.

Source: Business Week on 2014 Hawaii Governor race Dec 12, 2013

  • The above quotations are from 2014 Hawaii Gubernatorial debates and race coverage.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Free Trade.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Neil Abercrombie on Free Trade.
  • Click here for more quotes by Charles Djou on Free Trade.
Candidates and political leaders on Free Trade:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 06, 2018