SEA Europe invites to take advantage of negotiates on agreement TTIP in order to remove the barriers to the income of the European naval produced ones in the USA market



In occasion of the negotiations in course between European Union and the USA on agreement TTIP (Partnership ocean-going liner for the commerce and the investments) lead with the objective to remove the trade barriers in many economic fields, SEA Europe, the association of the European naval industry that has been born from the fusion of the Community of European Shipyards Associations (CESA) and of the European Marine Equipment Council (EMEC) ( on 6 June 2012), it has manifested the European politicians and to the parts involved in it negotiate own worries on Jones Act, the American law that regulated the marine transport of cabotage, norm that - it has explained the association - limits the free exchange of the marine transport.

SEA Europe has remembered that Jones Act previews that all the mercantile ships that transport goods between the ports of the United States are constructed in the USA, are of property and operated by American citizens and are recorded under the USA flag. The law applies to all the ships that operate between two ports of the United States.

For SEA Europe, the dispositions of the American norm on the cabotage that deserve greater attention are that which imposes that the ships that operate in the within of Jones Act they are not repaired or converted from ship yards foreign countries and that based on which if a Jones Act ship is sent near a foreign ship yard for repair work, or for the installation of some equipments, such work is subject to declaration and the payment of a custom office of 50% to the action of the return of the ship in the United States.

The European association has evidenced that if on one side restrictive norms are applied also to other modalities of transport as the aerial transport, that railway and road haulage, from the other does not exist some obligation of construction in the USA for means used in the United States from the other modalities of transport.

The association has explained that Jones Act has had therefore the effect to prevent to the European shipbuilding industry, included that of repair and naval maintenance, to sell ships to employ in American waters. Even if some European producers of naval equipments are successful to sell some producing to the naval constructors of the United States - it has found SEA Europe - the second disposition of Jones Act prevent they to offer naval equipment integrated wide more in the United States because the use of foreign members for the construction of the ships absolutely is limited. On the contrary - it has emphasized SEA Europe - the European Union does not exclude the naval producers of the United States or other Countries. "This form of extreme protectionism by the United States - it has denounced the European association - is in contrast with the general intentions of liberalization of the commercial exchanges of the two partner".

SEA Europe has remembered that over the last few years various lobbies in the United States they have tried without success to modify or to obtain partial exemptions from some dispositions of Jones Act and that also to international level the efforts lead from the OCSE, the World Trade Organization and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAPHTA) in order to repeal or to modify Jones Act still are not crowned by the success.

The main critic of the marine industry of the EU in confronts of Jones Act is the serious distortion of international the competitive context and SEA Europe has emphasized that moreover, being a protezionista norm, Jones Act has diminished the competitiveness of the producers and the American operators and has created a market monopolist. The European association has evidenced that the American norm has determined an increase of the cost of the new ships constructed in the USA and a contraction of the market share of the constructors Americans: currently - it has stated the association - the more expensive ship to the world is Liberty Bay, a tanker Aframax of 115.000 gross capacities in tons constructed in order to operate in the within of the Jones Act traffics whose cost of construction is piled to 184,7 million dollars. "In Europe - it has observed SEA Europe - a similar ship can be constructed for single 51 million dollars", as Aframax of 112.700 tpl has happened with the four under construction in Rumania by Daewoo-Mangalia for the Tsakos Greek. "Moreover - it has continued the European association - the American commercial ships constructed in the USA have a greater cost four or five times regarding that in the nations that are the main naval constructors, as South Korea and Japan. According to the Shipping Intelligence Network, in Japan the cost of construction for ton is of 769,80 dollars while in the United States it is of 9.910, 48 dollars. Even if the costs of labor in Japan are slightly advanced to that in the United States and in the United States the economic investments are less onerous regarding Japan, to construct a ship in the United States costs the 1,200% in more. It is obvious that single the monopolist American market can determine such absurd increases of the capital costs. In synthesis, the protezionista Jones Act has generated an expensive American navalmeccanica industry that is not competitive on the world-wide market. In the 1979 the ship yards of the United States constructed about a tenth one of the great mercantile ships of the world. Today the market share is inferior to 1%. Given the state in which the industry now it is found - it has found SEA Europe - it will not be at all in a position to tackling to the fort increase of the traffic of the goods and the people that would have to be realized in the next decades".

SEA Europe has listed which are the arguments that usually are adduced to defense of Jones Act. In particular, the defenders of the American norm support that the main factors that determine elevated the operating costs of construction and of the American ships are in the first place that the yards foreign countries are larger and can benefit of economies of scale, while those Americans generally construct ships made-to-measure, argument that - it has emphasized SEA Europe - are not valid if of Europe where the majority of the yards constructs ships and producing complexes and specialized and where the ships are not produced in great series standardized as those realized in Asia. The defenders of Jones Act support moreover that the salaries in the ship yards foreign countries are lower, while the European association finds that also this is not the case of the Europe that has norms on the job analogous to those Americans. The supporters of the American law assert then that the standards of construction, safety and environmental in the other nations are inferior regarding the standards of the United States, while SEA Europe beats again newly that this is not the case of the Europe that to such care has severeer norms regarding the United States. The defenders of Jones Act support moreover that Jones Act is the only way in order to contrast the practical ones of dumping goods in foreign market adopted by some nations, while precise the European association that such practical and commercial distortions are placed in existence mainly in Asia and that Europe always has been a strong supporter of the necessity of disciplining the international commerce to the aim to face this problem and, from the moment that it negotiate in center OCSE for an agreement on the shipbuilding are failed, Europe has opted for a bilateral and multilateral approach in order to resolve the problem. At last, second the supporters of Jones Act, this law is necessary in order to guarantee to the USA a sufficient merchant navy and a base of shipbuilding necessary in order protect the interests of the nation from the point of view of the defense and safety, while SEA Europe retort that, taking for example the field of the aerial transport, also strategic it, from American part has not been fixed some obligation to construct aircrafts in the USA and that, moreover, the norms on the marine cabotage of the United States have caused to the loss of competences in the section of the shipbuilding and the marine transport contraddicendo the original scope ofthe law.

According to SEA Europe, it negotiate TTIP constitute therefore an opportunity not to lose in order to remove unwarrantable barriers to the commercial exchanges placed from Jones Act and, in particular, in order to remove requirement of construction in the USA demanded to the produced ships of elevated specialization in Europe. A reform of the norms on the marine cabotage of the United States that opens the market to the specialized produced ones of the EU, that is to the ships and the services of realized repair and maintenance from the European yards - has evidenced SEA Europe - it would allow with the European naval industry to enter in a new stock market of about 90 billion euros for the new constructions and a potential market of two billions of euro for the repair and the naval conversion let alone to create about 500.000 new places of work.

“The reform - it has specified the European association - would carry to a winning situation for both the parts. The European Union and the United States share common values; both have comparable legal systems and high standards of job and safeguard of the atmosphere. With the exception of the other great nations and shipbuilding regions in Asia, for example Korea, China and Japan, the European Union has norms on the aids of State and very rigorous norms antitrust. The ship yards of the United States - it has emphasized SEA Europe - will be able to still construct the their usual types of ships without some threat to their abilities. The shipowners and the operators of the United States will be able to benefit of a cost reduction and a better energy efficiency. The consumers of the United States will be able to benefit more of the greater safety and a cleaned atmosphere. In the moments of need and emergency, for example in case of natural catastrophes, being necessary could be available without useless and onerous procedures of exemption. The ports of the United States will be able to satisfy the modern standards international and to reduce the necks of bottle in favor of the commercial exchanges. All the economy of the United States - it has concluded SEA Europe - will be able to benefit of such modifications graces to a more competitive price of national the marine transport”.