Two boulders are crushing Hawaii: Trump’s tariffs and the Jones Act

Hawaii lives on a knife’s edge. It is an island state in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that depends almost entirely on imports. 

The University of Hawaii at Hilo estimates the state imports 85 to 90 percent of its food. Hawaii Business Magazine reports that more than half of its oil comes from countries as far away as Russia and Libya. The Observatory of Economic Complexity notes that China exports $206 million in consumer goods, machinery and electronics to Hawaii. 

If shipping stopped, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency estimates Hawaii could only feed its population for about a week. The other 49 states rarely confront this reality because they sit on a continent with farmland, resources and infrastructure to endure disruptions.

Hawaii’s geographic isolation doesn’t just increase dependence on imports, it magnifies the harm of federal policies like tariffs and the Jones Act. 

Passed more than a century ago, the Jones Act requires all goods shipped between U.S. ports to travel on U.S.-built, U.S.-flagged and U.S.-crewed vessels. Proponents argue the law protects national security by preserving a domestic shipbuilding industry and skilled mariners America might need in wartime. 

But for Hawaii, it acts like a straitjacket. Foreign ships, especially those from Asia, our closest trade partners, cannot deliver goods directly to the islands. Instead, carriers must often reroute cargo through West Coast ports, doubling or tripling costs for Hawaii consumers. Families here pay inflated prices for everything from groceries to gas.

The law’s failures are clearest in disasters. When Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, the Jones Act forced the island to reject direct aid shipments from foreign vessels. While U.S.-flagged ships scrambled to keep up, Puerto Ricans waited for critical supplies. 

Hawaii faces the same risk: One hurricane or port disruption could sever lifelines overnight while the Jones Act ties the hands of willing foreign shippers.

Tariffs only tighten the squeeze. On April 2, the Trump administration announced sweeping tariffs on imported goods. Most countries now face a 10 percent tariff, with China’s as high as 145 percent. 

Beijing responded with tariffs of up to 125 percent. Even after adjustments, the Peterson Institute for International Economics estimates the average U.S. tariff on Chinese goods at 57.6 percent and China’s reciprocal rate on U.S. goods at 32.6 percent. 

In theory, tariffs should make U.S.-made goods more competitive. In practice, combined with the Jones Act, they drive up the price of goods before they even reach Hawaii. Either way, local families lose.

This makes even less sense given Hawaii’s location. Honolulu sits closer to Tokyo, Seoul and Auckland than to Washington, D.C. Forcing the islands to depend on mainland ports for Asian imports defies both geography and logic. Hawaii could receive goods faster and cheaper from nearby Pacific neighbors, but Washington’s restrictions block us from using that natural advantage.

Those Pacific neighbors already rank as Hawaii’s largest trading partners. In 2024, Japan bought $84 million of Hawaii exports,18 percent of the state’s total. New Zealand followed with $58 million, South Korea with $53 million, India with $46 million and the United Kingdom with $23 million. 

Yet these partners impose reciprocal tariffs — up to 25 percent in India, 15 percent in Japan and South Korea, 10 percent in New Zealand and the U.K. Hawaii’s producers then face the extra burden of Jones Act shipping costs. Competing against suppliers in other Pacific nations becomes nearly impossible, and foreign buyers often turn elsewhere. 

Supporters of tariffs argue they protect U.S. jobs and shield industries from cheap foreign imports, especially from China. Without such measures, they warn, America could become dangerously dependent on foreign powers in a crisis.

But together, tariffs and the Jones Act trap Hawaii between two economic boulders. Tariffs raise import costs and invite foreign retaliation against exports. The Jones Act inflates prices and blocks us from capitalizing on our location. The combination strangles Hawaii’s economy and leaves residents exposed to supply shocks.

Congress can change this. Lawmakers could repeal or reform the Jones Act for noncontiguous states and territories, unlocking affordable shipping routes and giving Hawaii room to grow. Paired with trade policies that treat Hawaii as America’s Pacific hub rather than a distant outpost, these changes could help build a competitive and resilient economy. 

Until then, Hawaii families will keep paying the literal price for policies designed for a different century and a different America.

Kevin Tangonan Ph.D. is on the history faculty at the University of Maryland Global Campus-Hawaii, where he teaches modern American history.