What Is the Jones Act? Why Shipping to Puerto Rico Costs Double

What Is the Jones Act? Why Shipping to Puerto Rico Costs Double A 1920 law requires that cargo moving between two US ports travels on ships that are built, owned, and crewed by Americans. A century later, the fleet it protects has shrunk from 434 oceangoing ships in 1950 to fewer than 100 today, and islands like Puerto Rico pay the difference. In this video, we break down what the Jones Act actually requires, why US-built ships cost four to five times more than foreign-built ones, what the New York Fed found about shipping costs to Puerto Rico, and why economists still disagree on how much of that reaches store shelves. We also look at why the law survives and how to read the next supply chain headline you see. What we cover: What the Jones Act says and what it does not cover Why the US fleet shrank under the law's protection The New York Fed container cost comparison for Puerto Rico Where the evidence is disputed, and who funded each side Energy, defense waivers, and the national security argument A simple question for reading supply chain news Sources: Congressional Research Service, "Shipping Under the Jones Act: Legislative and Regulatory Background" Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 2012 analysis of Puerto Rico shipping costs EconoFact, "The Jones Act and the Cost of Shipping Between U.S. Ports" Cato Institute, "The Jones Act Delivers High Costs but Little Maritime Security" Government Accountability Office, 2013 report on Puerto Rico shipping University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO), "Jones Act" Previous video: how American Samoa carries the burdens of being American without the vote. Want a follow-up on Guam and Hawaii? Let me know in the comments. Subscribe to Vino Explain for weekly breakdowns of the economic headlines that rarely get explained. #JonesAct #PuertoRico #Economics