The report “Impact of the U.S. Jones Act on Puerto Rico,” sponsored by the American Maritime Partnership (AMP) representing Jones Act carriers (JACs) has just been released. Far from being a comprehensive study, the newly released report is apparently an effort to provide selective data; thus, the study is incomplete and reaches erroneous conclusions.

The elephant in the room that the report does not even mention is the 10-day waiver to the Jones Act granted to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which slammed the island on Sept. 20, 2017. During this 10-day period, Puerto Rico importers needed to immediately find vessels that were available that offered an advantage over JACs in terms of price and/or availability, as well as U.S. suppliers that had the merchandise readily available to be shipped.

Oprima aquí para leer la columna.

Vicente Feliciano
TRIBUNA INVITADA
El Nuevo Dia
martes, 24 de julio de 2018