Editing Transportation in Puerto Rico (section)

===Federal restrictions===
[[File:Map-of-jones-act-carrier-routes-for-puerto-rico.png|thumb|Map of [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920|Jones Act]] carrier routes for Puerto Rico.]]

The [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920]] (also known as the [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920|Jones Act]]) prevents foreign-flagged ships from carrying cargo between two American ports (a practice known as [[cabotage]]).{{efn|Gutierrez. "Mr. Chairman, we are here to express our support for any effort that would unburden the economy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from the unfair and unreasonable restrictions that stem from dispositions of the Merchant Marine Acts of 1920 and 1936 on trade conducted between the Commonwealth and the United States mainland."<ref name="erg-trade">{{cite web |url=http://graduados.uprrp.edu/planificacion/facultad/elias-gutierrez/ERGTRADE.pdf |title=Impact of the Coastwise Trade Laws on the Transportation System of the United States of America |first=Elías |last=Gutierrez |access-date=September 6, 2013 }}</ref>}}{{efn|Gutierrez. "Being treated as an extension of the United States coastline by the protectionist merchant marine statutes has imposed a heavy and unfair cost on United States citizens in Puerto Rico."<ref name="erg-trade" />}}{{efn|Gutierrez. "The Merchant Marine Acts inflict costs to the Puerto Rican economy."<ref name="erg-trade" />}}{{efn|name=joc-gao-report-repeal-quote|JOC (2013) "Repealing or amending the Jones Act cabotage law might cut Puerto Rico shipping costs"<ref name="joc-gao-report">{{cite news |url=http://www.joc.com/regulation-policy/transportation-regulations/united-states/gao’s-jones-act-report-inconclusive_20130320.html |title=GAO's Jones Act Report Is Inconclusive |newspaper=[[The Journal of Commerce]] |date=March 20, 2013 |access-date=September 6, 2013 }}</ref>}}{{efn|name=joc-gao-report-lower-costs-quote|JOC (2013) "The GAO report said its interviews with shippers indicated they [...] believed that opening the trade to non-U.S.-flag competition could lower costs."<ref name="joc-gao-report" />}} Because of the Jones Act, foreign ships inbound with goods from [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]], [[Western Europe]], and [[Africa]] cannot stop in Puerto Rico, offload Puerto Rico-bound goods, load mainland-bound Puerto Rico-manufactured goods, and continue to U.S. ports. Instead, they must proceed directly to U.S. ports, where distributors [[break bulk cargo|break bulk]] and send Puerto Rico-bound manufactured goods to Puerto Rico across the ocean by U.S.-flagged ships.{{efn|Gutierrez. "The "cabotage" laws impose significant restrictions on commerce between Puerto Rico and the U. S. mainland by requiring that merchandise and produce shipped by water between U.S. ports be shipped only on U.S.-built, U.S.- crewed, U.S.-flagged, and U.S.-citizen owned vessels."<ref name="erg-trade" />}}

Puerto Rican consumers ultimately bear the expense of transporting goods again across the Atlantic and Caribbean Sea on U.S.-flagged ships subject to the extremely high operating costs imposed by the Jones Act.{{efn|Gutierrez. "Because such restrictions boost shipping costs, American consumers pay the price."<ref name="erg-trade" />}} This also makes Puerto Rico less competitive with Caribbean ports as a shopping destination for tourists from home countries with much higher taxes (like mainland states) even though prices for non-American manufactured goods in theory should be cheaper since Puerto Rico is much closer to Central and South America, Western Europe, and Africa.

The [[government of Puerto Rico|local government of Puerto Rico]] has requested several times to the [[U.S. Congress]] to exclude Puerto Rico from the Jones Act restrictions without success.{{efn|Santiago (2021) "Local detractors of the Jones Act [...] for many years have unsuccessfully tried to have Puerto Rico excluded from the law's provisions[...]"<ref>{{cite news |title=Jones Act requirement comes under new light |first=Jaime |last=Santiago |newspaper=[[Caribbean Business]] |url=http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/prnt_ed/news02.php?nw_id=7877&ct_id=0 |date=November 29, 2012 |access-date=September 6, 2013 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308221156/http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/prnt_ed/news02.php?nw_id=7877&ct_id=0 |archive-date=2014-03-08 }}</ref>}} The most recent measure has been taken by the [[17th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico]] through [http://www.oslpr.org/files/docs/{A8F2DF0C-A03D-40C7-A198-ED9C945F81C4}.doc R. Conc. del S. 21].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oslpr.org/files/docs/{A8F2DF0C-A03D-40C7-A198-ED9C945F81C4}.doc |title=R. Conc. del S. 21 |format=[[Microsoft Word]] |publisher=[[Puerto Rico Office of Legislative Services]] |date=May 6, 2013 |access-date=September 6, 2013 |language=es }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.noticel.com/noticia/141423/senado-aprueba-proyecto-para-pedir-trato-preferencial-en-leyes-de-cabotaje.html |title=Senado aprueba proyecto para pedir trato preferencial en leyes de cabotaje |newspaper=[[NotiCel]] |date=June 5, 2013 |access-date=September 6, 2013 |language=es }}</ref> These measures have always received support from all the [[Political party strength in Puerto Rico|major local political parties]]. In 2013 the [[Government Accountability Office]] published a report which concluded that "repealing or amending the Jones Act cabotage law might cut Puerto Rico shipping costs" and that "shippers believed that opening the trade to non-U.S.-flag competition could lower costs."{{efn|name=joc-gao-report-repeal-quote}}{{efn|name=joc-gao-report-lower-costs-quote}} The report, however, concluded that the effects of modifying the application of the Jones Act for Puerto Rico are highly uncertain for both Puerto Rico and the United States, particularly for the [[United States Merchant Marine|U.S. shipping industry]] and the military preparedness of the United States.<ref name="joc-gao-report" />

In February 2025, Governor Jennifer Gonzalez-Colón announced a request by the government of Puerto Rico for a permanent exemption from air cabotage laws in Puerto Rico.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.elnuevodia.com/negocios/economia/notas/puerto-rico-acelera-su-plan-para-convertirse-en-un-hub-de-carga-aerea/ |title=Puerto Rico buscará una exención permanente a las leyes de cabotaje aéreo |first=Efraín |last=Montalbán Ríos  |date=13 February 2025|access-date=13 February 2025|language=es |newspaper=[[El Nuevo Día]] }}</ref>