Tarrification of the Coastwise Trade Laws

Authors

Keith E. Diggs, Unviersity of Michigan Law School

Abstract

The coastwise trade laws prohibit foreign vessels and mariners from transporting goods or passengers between American ports. These anticompetitive laws punish American producers and consumers yet barely sustain a dwindling merchant marine. Every attempt to repeal the laws encounters insurmountable political resistance. Reformers of the coastwise trade laws, then, should instead try to convert the prohibition on foreign involvement into a tariff.

Recommended Citation

Keith E. Diggs, Tarrification of the Coastwise Trade Laws, 112 Mich. L. Rev. 1507 (2014).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol112/iss8/4