GAO’s Jones Act report is inconclusive

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This week the US Congress’ investigative arm, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), released its report into the effect of the country’s cabotage restrictions, the Jones Act, on the container trade between the mainland and Puerto Rico, officially an unincorporated territory of the US. While shippers in Puerto Rico claimed that allowing non-Jones Act carriers could lead to lower freight rates, the GAO said it was unable to find enough evidence to back this assertion. A possible fudge which is unlikely stop the debate over the Jones Act from rumbling on.