Update: President Donald Trump authorized for the Jones Act to be waived for Puerto Rico effective immediately, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday.

https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/913373292832153600

The humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico caused by Hurricane Maria has put a spotlight on an arcane maritime law known as the Jones Act. Earlier in the week, Trump’s decision not to waive the provision as the U.S. did after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma to speed up recovery efforts in Texas and Florida had drawn debate and criticism.

Officially titled the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, the Jones Act became hashtag #JonesAct on Twitter where attention has turned to the mechanism of the law and how it plays a role in shipping supplies to Puerto Rico. But what does the Jones Act do and how could waiving it help relief efforts for Americans on the island?

Here are some answers.

What is the Jones Act and what does it do?

President Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones Act into law in 1920 to restrict trade to American-made and -flagged vessels within U.S. waters. The law forbids any foreign vessels from shipping directly into ports in U.S. areas such as Guam, Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico.

Why did Trump hesitate to not waive the law?

Earlier in the week, Department of Homeland Security spokesman David Lapan explained the Trump administration’s decision to not waive the rule like so to the The Wall Street Journal: “Based on consultation with other Federal agencies, DHS’s current assessment is that there is sufficient numbers of U.S.-flagged vessels to move commodities to Puerto Rico.”

The Journal further reported:

Mr. Lapan wrote that the waiver was needed in Florida and Texas because the loss of oil refineries and the shutdown of the primary pipeline to move refined fuel to the East Coast and Southeast increased demand for vessels. In Puerto Rico, the need is different.

“The fuel supply challenges facing Puerto Rico are not a function of the lack of fuel being shipped to the island, but caused by the devastation to Puerto Rico’s transportation networks that have prevented fuel from being transported on the island to all of the places that need it,” Mr. Lapan wrote.

Who wants Trump to waive the law and why?

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, and others have urged Trump to waive the law in this scenario. They contend that doing so could help foreign vessels from nearby islands such as Jamaica send relief supplies to Puerto Rico a lot faster than the U.S. can from its nearest ports in Florida.

On Wednesday, McCain called the Jones Act a “protectionist” law.

https://twitter.com/SenJohnMcCain/status/913100541584199682

https://twitter.com/GovGaryJohnson/status/913051661026836480

https://twitter.com/Bill_Cimbrelo/status/913034602285092864

It is not the first time the Jones Act has come under fire for creating a burden for trade in Puerto Rico. In fact, McCain has long been against the law and in argued for its repeal.

“I have long advocated for a full repeal of The Jones Act, an antiquated law that has for too long hindered free trade, made U.S. industry less competitive and raised prices for American consumers,” McCain said in a press release in 2015.

So is it possible Trump will waive it?

Department of Homeland Security officials told The Hill that it was “unlikely” that Trump would waive the Jones Act. Trump told reporters on Wednesday that there is a sufficient number of U.S.-flagged ships in those waters helping Puerto Rico.

“A lot of people that work in the shipping industry … don’t want the Jones Act lifted,” Trump said. “We have a lot of ships out there right now.”

What is the upshot of not waiving the Jones Act?

One expert, Salim Furth, argued that lifting the Jones Act matters less now than it will in the long-term as Puerto Rico rebuilds and demand rises for supplies like concrete, steel, copper wire and machinery.

Without access to other more affordable sources of supply, Puerto Ricans could be left on the hook to pay more for those supplies, Furth wrote.

https://twitter.com/salimfurth/status/913054538336219136

Why should the U.S. uphold the Jones Act?

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-San Diego, who chairs the Coast Guard and Maritime Subcommittee in the House of Representatives, is among the most vocal supporters of the Jones Act.

As recently as April this year, Hunter argued that the Jones Act honors the economic spirit Trump has trumpeted in his administration: “Buy American, Hire American.”

“While often conflated by foreign interests, the Jones Act ensures that vessels and workers engaged in coastwise trade are U.S.-compliant while providing domestic shipbuilding and mariner capacity to support our armed forces at times of war,” Hunter wrote.

In the meantime, how is Puerto Rico getting relief?

Regardless of whether the Jones Act would be waived, relief was still getting to Puerto Rico by way of air. The Trump administration said it wasalready doing all it can to help send National Guard troops and supplies to the island of 3.4 million U.S. citizens.

Other organizations and individuals are also pitching in, including singer Armando Perez, better known as Pitbull, who reportedly sent a private plane of his to transport cancer patients out of the island.

https://twitter.com/ihadcancer/status/912840878942769152

https://twitter.com/espn_macmahon/status/912718911405154304

https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/912796470633431040

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Join me in a conversation: Shoot me a private email with your thoughts or ideas on a different approach to this story. As always, you can also send us a tweet.

Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @RunGomez

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UPDATES:

Thursday, Sept. 28 at 8:50 a.m.: This article was updated to reflect President Donald Trump’s decision to waive the Jones Act.

This article was originally published at Sept. 27 at 12:05 p.m.