Article 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1929, also known as the Jones Act, all goods that are brought to the island by water must be shipped on vessels that are US flagged, made in the US, owned by US citizens and operated by US citizens. In light of this, every single product that arrives in Puerto Rico must have been brought in on a US ship. Anything that comes from a foreign country destined to Puerto Rico must first be unloaded in a US port and reloaded into a US flagged vessel and then be taken to Puerto Rico. Because of this, according to the US General Accounting Office, Puerto Rico has lost $29 billion dollars from 1970 to 2010. Additionally, without the Jones Act, 10,000 jobs would be created in Puerto Rico. Please repeal the Jones Act.



