Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
14%
3 of 21 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
67/100
Reason's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
America's interminable war with Iran has killed thousands, disrupted commerce that flows through the Strait of Hormuz, and raised prices on the home front.
But there may be one silver lining.
uncertain
that → kill → front
In an attempt to lower gas prices that spiked because of the war, the Trump administration has repeatedly issued waivers of the Jones Act, a century-old law that requires all goods moved between American ports to be carried on American-built, American-crewed ships.
asserted
goods → lower → ships
With the law (temporarily) not being enforced, commerce has exploded.
asserted
commerce → enforce → ?
Just look at how much propane has been shipped from the mainland United States to Puerto Rico, says Colin Grabow, a trade policy analyst at the Cato Institute and perhaps the nation's foremost advocate for abolishing the Jones Act.
asserted
Grabow → look → Act
Since March, when the first waiver was issued, Puerto Rico has imported more than 800,000 barrels of propane from the mainland.
asserted
Rico → issue → mainland
That's more than twice the amount of American propane shipped to Puerto Rico in the last 22 years combined.
asserted
That → ship → years
America is one of the world's leading producers and exporters of propane, but the lack of Jones Act–compliant ships capable of carrying gas means that it has been nearly impossible to ship propane from the mainland to outlying parts of the country.
asserted
it → lead → country
In the past, Puerto Rico has imported gas from Nigeria, Chile, and elsewhere because those deliveries don't have to comply with the Jones Act.
asserted
deliveries → import → Act
For years, libertarians have argued that the Jones Act unfairly impoverishes American consumers and businesses that want to buy and sell things within the same country in order to artificially inflate the price of moving those things across water.
asserted
that → argue → water
Waiving the law seems to have proven that point: There are plenty of ships capable of moving gas and oil around the country as long as the government gets out of the way.
asserted
government → waive → way
"The instant the Jones Act no longer applied to energy shipments, mainland propane displaced foreign imports, suggesting it had been the cheapest option all along," says Grabow.
asserted
Grabow → apply → imports
The Jones Act waivers are offering a glimpse into a world where the law doesn't exist.
asserted
law → offer → world
From March through mid-August, there had been 210 voyages completed that otherwise would have been deemed unlawful without the waivers, according to an analysis of Maritime Administration data by the Institute for Energy Research.
uncertain
that → complete → Research
It's a world where American oil and natural gas can be more easily shipped from the Gulf Coast to New England, which had previously been importing energy from Russia and Europe.
asserted
which → ship → Russia
Another big winner is California, which had been importing gasoline from as far away as the Bahamas because it was nearly impossible to legally ship gas from Texas or Alaska to the West Coast.
asserted
it → import → Coast
President Donald Trump reupped the Jones Act waiver in mid-May.
uncertain
Trump → reuppe → May
Another extension, issued in August, will last for 90 days but applies only to ships carrying energy products such as gas and oil.
asserted
extension → issue → gas
Before that waiver expires in November, lawmakers ought to kill the Jones Act permanently.
asserted
lawmakers → expire → Act
There is some irony in the fact that one of Trump's most successful policy maneuvers has paused a protectionist law that limited commerce, when so much else of his economic policy has been focused on erecting barriers to trade.
asserted
much → be → trade
It's also amusing that it was a war in the Middle East—something Trump pledged to avoid—that triggered this change.
asserted
that → pledge → change
This article originally appeared in print under the headline "A World Without the Jones Act."
asserted
article → appear → Act
The Aporia
