US shipping law is unlikely to ease despite hurricanes

Significance

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had earlier denied a request from Puerto Rico to waive certain provisions of the Jones Act which would allow vessels of any registry to ship cargo from the US mainland to Puerto Rico. However, CBP eventually granted the waiver under significant political and popular pressure due to the devastation of Hurricane Maria and slow pace of disaster response.

Impacts

• Infrastructure repair will have a greater impact on Puerto Rico’s recovery than the duration of the Jones Act waiver.
• Labour maritime unions will lobby senior Democrats to block any retrenchment of mariner protections.
• Washington’s ‘America First’ line on trade will see it side with US shipbuilders against increasing foreign-built vessels for cabotage.