All about the Jones Act, an obscure shipping law that's stalling Puerto Rico's recovery

[DonViejo]

By Amber Phillips September 27 at 2:27 PM

In the wake of Hurricane Maria, pretty much the entire island of Puerto Rico is dark, hot and running out of supplies — quickly. Because it's an island, many lifesaving supplies will arrive by boat. But Puerto Rico has to wait until American boats can reach its shores with supplies because of an obscure, World War I-era shipping law that the Trump administration is refusing to waive.

Trump's decision to keep the Jones Act in place is also feeding into a narrative that the president is aloof to Puerto Rico's problems. His administration lifted the Jones Act to help Texas and Florida after hurricanes Harvey in August and Irma this month.

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What the Jones Act does: It requires that ships going from American coast to American coast be American — built, owned, flagged and crewed. That means goods going from the mainland to Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Alaska and Guam, or even from Texas to New England, have to travel on U.S. ships, even if they're not the most economical transport or readily available.

Why that matters to hurricane relief: The law means than foreign ships in nearby countries can’t just zoom over to Puerto Rico with aid supplies. They either have to pay tariffs for landing at a U.S. port, or they would have to go to Florida first to drop off their goods with a Puerto Rico-bound U.S. ship.

“A foreign relief shipment to Puerto Rico, they have two choices,” said Scott Miller, an international trade expert with the Center for Strategic & International Studies. “One is to land in San Juan and pay tariffs associated with the Jones Act, or to take shipments to Jacksonville, offload the ship and reload it on a U.S. one.”

Puerto Rican officials have long despised the law, arguing that it makes their food and goods much more expensive than on the mainland. Politicians in Hawaii have argued that ranchers have even resorted to flying cows to the mainland rather than shipping them. Other opponents of the law say it forces New Englanders to pay more for propane, holds up salt supplies to clear snowstorms in New Jersey and raises electricity rates in Florida.

Link to tweet

But now, Puerto Rican officials say, it's a matter of life and death. The entire island is in a communications and power blackout, Washingon Post reporters there say: “Estimates for the return of electricity and basic services will be measured not in days but in weeks and months.”

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/09/27/all-about-the-jones-act-an-obscure-shipping-law-thats-stalling-puerto-ricos-recovery

[msongs]

1. law implemented to benefit shippers n unions. to hell with everyone else nt

[Voltaire2]

2. nice anti-labor sentiment there.

The shippers couldn't care less - they can flag their vessels in any country. The law protects ship builders, people who build ships, and the people who work on us built and flagged ships.

It is protectionist, but sometimes that is a good thing. For example, without a robust merchant marine and ship building industry we would have been unable to keep the UK in the war during the height of the German blockade in WWII. Plus these are generally good jobs.

Of course the idiot in the white house could waive the regs for the islands devastated by the storms.

[Stallion]

6. Yes but its My Understanding that There Are Extremely Few Jones Compliant American Ships

For example there is exactly 1 commercial cruise ship out of hundreds which fits under the Jones Act and that one cruises the Hawaiian Islands and is about 30 years old—NCL America's Pride of America—is the only commercial cruise ship registered in the United States, according to data from CyberCruises.com

[former9thward]

7. Why are you trying to give the unions a pass?

They are among the greatest supporters of the Jones Act.

Strong Bipartisan Support Pledged for Jones Act, Mariners

May 2014

Back to Issue

In a flurry of recent communications, legislators from both sides of the aisle as well as a cabinet leader left no doubt about their strong support of the American maritime industry, including the U.S. Merchant Marine.

Those communications included op-eds, press conferences, news releases and speeches from senators, congressional representatives and Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx. Many of the remarks focused on the Jones Act, a vital maritime law that pumps billions of dollars into the U.S. economy while helping sustain nearly 500,000 American jobs.

In addition to Foxx, those stepping up and reaffirming their backing of the industry included Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.), Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.), Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Rep. Steve Palazzo (R-Miss.), Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-Hawaii), and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.).

http://www.seafarers.org/seafarerslog/2014/May2014/SupportforJonesAct.htm

[Voltaire2]

9. Because I am pro union.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. I'm generally a fan of the Jones Act. But not for Puerto Rico, and certainly not when it can be

waived for humanitarian emergencies, as it has been in the past, and if it would be helpful now.

[marybourg]

4. The bottlenecks now are the condition

of the ports and of the highways and road system leading away from the ports, not a lack of ships. This is a red herring.

[Not Ruth]

5. Can the supplies be flown in?

[Bob Loblaw]

8. Nevertheless

the USNS Comfort should have been preloaded and steaming for Puerto Rico as soon as the weather cleared