The long-awaited General Accountability Office (GAO) study on the Jones Act in Puerto Rico shows that the U.S. domestic container shipping fleet has provided regular, reliable service while offering significant rate reductions, according to the American Maritime Partnership (AMP), an industry trade group.
“GAO disproved charges that the Jones Act raises prices for consumers in Puerto Rico,” AMP said in a statement shortly after the release of the report. “GAO specifically said, ‘[S]o many factors influence freight rates and product prices that the independent effect and associated economic costs of the Jones Act cannot be determined.’”
“As such, GAO’s report confirmed that previous estimates of the so-called ‘cost’ of the Jones Act are not verifiable and cannot be proven.”