After Hurricane Fiona tore through Puerto Rico last week, President Joe Biden said he was “laser-focused” on the crisis and pledged to do “everything, everything we can.”
Now, calls are mounting for Biden to waive a labor union-backed shipping rule that would speed fuel transport to the island, where the devastation has led to major power outages.
Lifting the century-old Jones Act would allow a ship loaded with diesel fuel idling nearby to dock on the fuel-strapped island.
In a letter to Biden on Tuesday, Puerto Rico’s governor, Pedro Pierluisi, said parts of the island are facing fuel shortages from electrical grid damage and a demand surge due to the hurricane response effort.
BIDEN ‘LASER-FOCUSED’ ON PROVIDING HURRICANE RELIEF TO PUERTO RICO
A temporary Jones Act waiver would ease supply constraints and avoid a shortage that could affect the island’s essential services in the middle of a hurricane emergency, Pierluisi said.
Despite Pierluisi’s plea, the White House said the decision is still under consideration and must pass legal muster.
The rule requires goods shipped between U.S. ports to be carried on ships built, owned, and operated by Americans. Congress has tightened permissions for waivers, which must show that the cargo is necessary for national defense.
The issue has placed Biden between two constituencies at odds: in this case, the labor unions that favor shipping rule protections and the residents of Puerto Rico calling on the president to ease their essential needs.
The Biden administration lifted the rule temporarily during a petroleum shortage last year but has not said whether it would support a waiver for Puerto Rico.
“Ultimately, it’s a political decision,” said Colin Grabow, a research fellow at the Cato Institute, which supports Jones Act reform.
During the Trump administration, a dispute over the law became a flashpoint between free trade advocates and others who wanted to protect American industries from foreign competition.
Biden has long backed the Jones Act and has not indicated that his position has wavered. He issued a “Buy American” executive order that reiterated his strong support days after taking office.
But now, as the Biden administration scrambles to respond to the storm-ravaged island, it faces pressure to take action. Over 700,000 were without power this week after the hurricane caused an islandwide outage. It is also still recovering from the impact of Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Democratic officials have urged the Biden administration to act, with eight members of Congress requesting a yearlong waiver for Puerto Rico after Fiona triggered floods on the island last week.
There are obstacles, however, Biden’s Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator, Deanne Criswell, told reporters on Tuesday, including “a legal obligation to ensure that each waiver request meets the legal requirements of Congress.”
Asked whether Biden supports the measure, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre demurred.
“This is a legal authority that we are following,” Jean-Pierre said, adding that the administration is “closely evaluating any waiver requests that come in.”
On Friday, the American Maritime Partnership, an industry coalition representing U.S.-flagged vessels and unions that endorse the Jones Act, pushed back against calls for a waiver, including in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that said American-flagged vessels were already responding to the crisis.
AMP’s president said in a statement that its vessels have been delivering fuel and condemned foreign carriers “looking to profit from this disaster at the expense of the Puerto Rican people.”
“It is bad precedent — it undermines U.S. law and puts foreign shippers ahead of Americans,” Kuuhaku Park said. “There is no indication that American shipping capacity is insufficient to meet demand and, therefore, no justification for a waiver.”
Jean-Pierre and Criswell said Tuesday that the final decision would rest with Mayorkas.
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In an interview with Radio Isla, Puerto Rico’s ports director, Jose Piza, said the diesel-loaded vessel’s shipper requested a waiver and is awaiting a response. He added that Puerto Rico has continued receiving diesel fuel from foreign vessels.
“They’re playing for time right now,” Grabow said of the Biden administration. “I think they’re hoping they can slow-walk this a bit and some vessels will show up with the diesel, and they won’t need the waiver.”
