White House Looks Into Permanent Jones Act Waiver for Puerto Rico

According to several reports, the Trump White House is pursuing a permanent waiver to the Jones Act for Puerto Rico. This decision comes after the law received heavy criticism during last year's hurricane season when it was blamed for impeding emergency efforts in Puerto Rico during the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. In response to this criticism, on September 28, the Trump administration issued a 10-day Jones Act waiver for Puerto Rico to help support the emergency relief effort. The Jones Act is a 1920 law mandating that only vessels that are built, crewed, owned, and flagged in the United States are allowed to participate in maritime shipping between domestic ports. By limiting the supply of domestic ships that are available to transport goods between American ports, the Jones Act raises shipping costs on those products; that cost is then passed on to American consumers.

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