Via Free Baecon:
President Donald Trump has waived the Jones Act for Puerto Rico, loosening shipping restrictions that officials said were hindering efforts to provide aid to the island in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced the decision on Twitter Thursday, writing that Trump authorized the waiver at the request of Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló.
A growing number of lawmakers had called on Trump to lift the Jones Act, a nearly 100-year-old protectionist shipping law that requires ships carrying goods between American ports to be built in the U.S. and crewed and owned by Americans. They argued the 1920 law slowed down recovery aid from getting to Puerto Rico and forced the island to absorb extra shipping costs because of the expenses for imported goods.
The Department of Homeland Security quickly waived the Jones Act for Texas and Florida to help with relief efforts after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.