EDITORIAL: Outdated Jones Act hinders relief aid for Puerto Rico

During an emergency like a natural disaster, anything that gets in the way of relief efforts can contribute to a loss of life. Sometimes it’s a collapsed building or a washed-out bridge. Other times, it can be well-intended legislation.

The latter is the case in Puerto Rico, where the Jones Act made emergency hurricane relief needlessly scarce and far more costly than it needed to be. While President Donald Trump has granted a temporary waiver of the law to help Puerto Rico, a permanent repeal would be even better.

Passed in 1920 and signed by President Woodrow Wilson, the Jones Act mandates that all goods shipped between U.S. ports be transported on ships built, owned, flagged, operated and crewed by Americans.

Because Puerto Rico is an American territory, the law applies to all goods shipped there, too — including hurricane disaster relief supplies. As USA Today notes, not only is this a far more expensive way to transport emergency items, but American ships are sometimes unavailable due to other bookings.

As USA Today’s Bart Jansen explains, support for this bit of protectionist legislation was initially built upon long-outdated fears of German U-boat attacks. It has since been bolstered via aggressive lobbying by the U.S. maritime industry, which would otherwise have a hard time competing against foreign shipping companies.

As a result, the companies are shielded from competition and can charge higher-than-market rates. According to a 2010 study by the University of Puerto Rico, those excessive rates cost the island’s already-struggling economy $537 million per year.

“The [Puerto Rican] economy is fragile. Even if [the Jones Act] is adding an extra 10 or 20 cents on everything you use, you’re talking about thousands of dollars a year for an economy that can’t afford it,” Shane Skelton, policy adviser for the Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure, a think tank that promotes economic efficiency, told USA Today.

While Mr. Trump’s temporary waiver will help alleviate some of the financial stress on an island facing widespread devastation, Puerto Rico is facing even bigger logistical problems. USA Today notes that its ports are already backed up with thousands of cargo containers’ worth of emergency meals and other relief supplies that can’t be distributed to those who need it due to manpower, transportation and other logistical problems.

Even the strongest and best-prepared nations can be no match for Mother Nature’s fury. That said, a long-overdue repeal of the Jones Act — which critics such as GOP Sen. John McCain have proposed for years — would do much more than a temporary waiver to ensure that the people of Puerto Rico are better prepared for a similar disaster in the future.