{"id":84794,"date":"2017-09-28T06:28:33","date_gmt":"2017-09-28T10:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=84794"},"modified":"2017-09-28T06:28:33","modified_gmt":"2017-09-28T10:28:33","slug":"president-trump-for-the-sake-of-puerto-rico-waive-the-jones-act-and-get-more-aid-to-the-island-post-haste","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=84794","title":{"rendered":"PRESIDENT TRUMP: For the sake of Puerto Rico, waive the Jones Act and get more aid to the island post haste"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-reactid=\"175\">\n<div class=\"row mijM74QO\" data-reactid=\"181\">\n<div class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 _2MPQ3G2T\" data-reactid=\"182\">\n<div class=\"row\" data-reactid=\"183\">\n<div class=\"column small-12\" data-reactid=\"184\">\n<div class=\"row\" data-reactid=\"185\">PUERTO RICO<\/div>\n<div data-reactid=\"185\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row _1gqZN6-1\" data-reactid=\"187\">\n<div class=\"column small-12\" data-reactid=\"188\">\n<div class=\"row\" data-reactid=\"189\">\n<h1 class=\"_8UFs4BVE\" data-reactid=\"190\">Help for Puerto Rico Is Being Delayed by the Jones Act. What&#8217;s That?<\/h1>\n<p>Sarah Begley<a class=\"text font-accent color-brand size-1x-small _1HynphR0\" style=\"font-size: 12px;\" href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/author\/sarah-begley\/\" data-reactid=\"202\"><br \/>\n<\/a><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\">Updated: Sep 27, 2017 5:13 PM ET<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12px;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<article class=\"row\" data-reactid=\"219\">\n<p data-reactid=\"220\">\n<p><iframe src='\/\/players.brightcove.net\/293884104\/SJa0Thl7_default\/index.html?videoId=5582404513001' allowfullscreen frameborder=0><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"220\">While\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/4957011\/is-puerto-rico-part-of-us\/\" rel=\"\" data-reactid=\"222\">Puerto Rico<\/a>\u00a0begins\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/4957495\/puerto-rico-before-after-hurricane-maria\/\" rel=\"\" data-reactid=\"225\">the long recovery process<\/a>\u00a0after Hurricane Maria, experts say that waiving a law known as the Jones Act could help. But\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/4956966\/how-president-trump-is-handling-puerto-ricos-crisis\/\" rel=\"\" data-reactid=\"228\">the Trump Administration on Tuesday declined to waive the statute<\/a>, also known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920. Here&#8217;s what to know about the law.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-2x-large bold OmZJ8NL1\" data-reactid=\"231\">What was the origin of the Jones Act?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"233\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/wonk\/wp\/2015\/06\/30\/wonkbook-an-old-law-aimed-at-german-u-boats-is-sinking-puerto-rico\/?utm_term=.3e92ac308626\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-reactid=\"234\">The Jones Act<\/a>\u00a0was put in place after World War I, when the threat of German U-boats (which sunk almost 5,000 ships during the war) was still fresh. The statute required that any ship carrying goods from one U.S. port to another be made in America, staffed with Americans, and owned by an American. The idea was to support the American shipbuilding and marine shipping industries from competition, so that they would be sufficiently robust should another conflict begin.<\/p>\n<div data-reactid=\"237\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-2x-large bold OmZJ8NL1\" data-reactid=\"238\">What is its legacy?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"240\">As many have argued, the Jones Act has long outlived its usefulness. German U-boats no longer pose a threat to the U.S., and the act now mainly serves to bolster the American shipping industry, effectively giving it a monopoly on shipping to ports like those in Puerto Rico. The effect is to increase costs for consumers. If a foreign ship unloads in Puerto Rico, it must pay high tariffs, taxes and fees, costs which get passed along to consumers. If it first unloads in Florida and the products are shipped from there to Puerto Rico, the cost of rerouting will also be passed to the consumer, one Puerto Rico expert recently wrote in\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/09\/25\/opinion\/hurricane-puerto-rico-jones-act.html?mcubz=3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-reactid=\"242\">the New York\u00a0<em data-reactid=\"244\">Times.<\/em><\/a>\u00a0The result is that American goods cost twice as much in Puerto Rico as they do in other parts of the region, like the U.S. Virgin Islands, which are not covered by the Jones Act. Critics say it is a protectionist law, and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/docplayer.net\/494027-Economic-impact-of-jones-act-on-puerto-rico-s-economy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-reactid=\"246\">multiple<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/capitalresearch.org\/article\/the-sinking-ship-of-cabotage-how-the-jones-act-lets-unions-and-a-few-companies-hold-the-economy-hostage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-reactid=\"249\">studies<\/a>\u00a0say it has cost the Puerto Rican economy billions of dollars.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-2x-large bold OmZJ8NL1\" data-reactid=\"252\">Why did Trump decline to waive it?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"254\">Waiving the Jones Act would theoretically allow cheaper, more readily available vessels to supply Puerto Rico with its needs while it recovers from the hurricane, and the act was recently waived to aid recovery after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. But the Administration said waiving it for Puerto Rico would not help. Gregory Moore, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, told\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-storm-maria-puertorico-shipping\/u-s-denies-request-for-puerto-rico-shipping-waiver-idUSKCN1C12UI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-reactid=\"256\">Reuters<\/a>\u00a0that there were plenty of American vessels available to ship goods to Puerto Rico, and that because ports had been damaged, \u201cThe limitation is going to be port capacity to offload and transit, not vessel availability.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-2x-large bold OmZJ8NL1\" data-reactid=\"259\">What happens to the Jones Act and Puerto Rico next?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"261\">Some members of Congress have taken issue with the decision, including Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, who would like to see the act not just waived but repealed. &#8220;I am very concerned by the Department\u2019s decision not to waive the Jones Act for current relief efforts in Puerto Rico, which is facing a worsening humanitarian crisis following Hurricane Maria,&#8221; he wrote in\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mccain.senate.gov\/public\/index.cfm?p=press-releases&amp;amp;id=BA2AB8F1-4CA0-4BCE-8998-481CCAFFB15D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-reactid=\"263\">a letter to the Department of Homeland Security<\/a>\u00a0this week. &#8221; It is unacceptable to force the people of Puerto Rico to pay at least twice as much for food, clean drinking water, supplies and infrastructure due to Jones Act requirements as they work to recover from this disaster. Now, more than ever, it is time to realize the devastating effect of this policy and implement a full repeal of this archaic and burdensome Act.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"266\">On Wednesday,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-usa-puertorico-jonesact\/puerto-rico-expects-u-s-to-lift-jones-act-shipping-restrictions-idUSKCN1C21R0?il=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-reactid=\"268\">Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello said he expected Congress to help<\/a>. \u201cWe expect them to waive it,\u201d he told CNN. \u201cOne of the considerations right now is the priority of getting fuel, diesel, gasoline, all across the island. Right now we have enough fuel. We\u2019re limited by the transportation logistics, but at some point of course, getting fuel into the island is going to be critical so that we can have the major functions of telecoms, hospitals, water, to be running appropriately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"column small-12 medium-10 medium-offset-1 large-offset-2 end text size-1x-large line-height-large _10M0Ygc4\" data-reactid=\"271\"><b data-reactid=\"272\">Correction:\u00a0<\/b>The original version of this story misstated when the Jones Act was put into place. It was after World War I, not after World War II.<\/p>\n<p data-reactid=\"271\">___<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/4959035\/puerto-rico-jones-merchant-marine-act-1920\/\">http:\/\/time.com\/4959035\/puerto-rico-jones-merchant-marine-act-1920\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PUERTO RICO Help for Puerto Rico Is Being Delayed by the Jones Act. What&#8217;s That? Sarah Begley Updated: Sep 27, 2017 5:13 PM ET\u00a0 While\u00a0Puerto Rico\u00a0begins\u00a0the long recovery process\u00a0after Hurricane Maria, experts say that waiving a law known as the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=84794\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84794\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}