THE Biden administration is waiving some shipping restrictions imposed by the 1920s-era Jones Act as they apply to Puerto Rico, reports the American Journal of Transportation.
'The Biden administration did the right thing by temporarily waiving the Jones Act shipping law of 1920,' said the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a Washington-based libertarian think tank.'Now a ship idling off Puerto Rico's coast with 300,000 barrels of diesel fuel may dock and help hurricane-stricken residents restore power,' said the CEI statement.
'Under the Jones Act, only American-built, owned, and operated ships may travel directly from one US port to another. Waivers are common during hurricane season since the Jones Act often blocks aid providers from helping people. Recent union-backed legislation passed in 2020 made Jones Act waivers more difficult, which was one reason for the Biden administration's delay,' it said.
'A better solution would be to permanently repeal the Jones Act. It raises domestic shipping costs to multiples of what other countries pay, triples shipbuilding costs, and has so destroyed the US shipbuilding industry that the entire Jones Act fleet is down to 92 ships, many of which are aging and obsolete.
'Not only would Jones Act repeal help ease longstanding supply chain problems, it would allow people to help each other during hurricane season without having to wait for permission from Washington,' said the CEI statement.
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'The Biden administration did the right thing by temporarily waiving the Jones Act shipping law of 1920,' said the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a Washington-based libertarian think tank.'Now a ship idling off Puerto Rico's coast with 300,000 barrels of diesel fuel may dock and help hurricane-stricken residents restore power,' said the CEI statement.
'Under the Jones Act, only American-built, owned, and operated ships may travel directly from one US port to another. Waivers are common during hurricane season since the Jones Act often blocks aid providers from helping people. Recent union-backed legislation passed in 2020 made Jones Act waivers more difficult, which was one reason for the Biden administration's delay,' it said.
'A better solution would be to permanently repeal the Jones Act. It raises domestic shipping costs to multiples of what other countries pay, triples shipbuilding costs, and has so destroyed the US shipbuilding industry that the entire Jones Act fleet is down to 92 ships, many of which are aging and obsolete.
'Not only would Jones Act repeal help ease longstanding supply chain problems, it would allow people to help each other during hurricane season without having to wait for permission from Washington,' said the CEI statement.
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