To the Editor:
Re “Free Puerto Rico, America’s Colony” (Op-Ed, Aug. 6):
Nelson A. Denis stipulates a litany of factors that have contributed to the debt crisis and the erosion of the Puerto Rican economy, including issues related to bank lending, loss of crops and industries, as well as the resulting exodus from the island.
Yet he then pivots to blame the United States maritime industry and the Jones Act for the crisis, saying that “if the Jones Act did not exist, neither would the island’s debt.” Mr. Denis says the Jones Act “requires that every product that enters or leaves Puerto Rico … must be carried on a United States ship.” But two-thirds of the ships that service Puerto Rico are foreign vessels.
The Jones Act fleet — which requires that cargo shipped between two United States ports be American built, owned and crewed — provides reliable, on-time service from the mainland of essential goods to the people of Puerto Rico.
To blame the domestic American maritime industry for the financial woes of Puerto Rico is wrong. The reality is that the domestic American maritime industry supports the people of Puerto Rico.
THOMAS A. ALLEGRETTI
Chairman
American Maritime Partnership
Washington
Puerto Rico’s Troubles
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