The Cabotage Laws:
The Cabotage Laws were first implemented under the Jones Act in 2017 which did two things, granted Puerto Ricans to be American Citizenship and also limited the island’s free trade. The Cabotage laws state that any good being exported from Puerto Rico between any other country first has to go through U.S ports, where Puerto Rico by itself can’t trade for example let’s say coffee with France. Therefore, it became easier for Puerto Rico to sell their products only to the United States where shipping it to the U.S and then to another country would be unsustainable for any business venture. The U.S therefore collects import taxes from Puerto Rican Products, and Puerto Rican Businesses have to pay more and have a much more limited consumer market. The U.S therefore controls all trading regulations regarding Puerto Rico’s free trade, so the island does not have any direct access routes to any other country.
U.S Congress Authority:
Puerto Rico at its most basic form has its own self-government, yet it does not mean that it has complete autonomy over the island. Since it is a U.S “territory” then it has no official authority regarding all legislative decisions made in the island, where Congress can veto any decision made by the local governmental institutions. For example, Puerto Rico voted in favor of statehood in 2012 yet the U.S congress deemed the official bill null and void since not all the Puerto Rican population voted. In addition, the U.S congress appointed a financial management board which handled all of Puerto Rico’s budget called “La Junta de Control Fiscal”, which overpowers all financial decisions made by the Puerto Rican Government. The officials of the Junta were also not selected through a democratic process but instead appointed by the U.S government.
American Citizenship:
This is the most confusing aspect of a Puerto Rican identity (speaking from a personal perspective). Puerto Rico is considered to be a territory of the United States, Puerto Ricans have an American Passport and are declared citizens yet don’t have the same rights. Puerto Ricans pay for social security taxes, payroll taxes, business taxes, gift taxes, estate taxes and so on, yet we can’t vote for legislations, which affect the island directly. It is also extremely confusing in simple things such as shipping addresses, where some companies under country list Puerto Rico as a country yet in others they list Puerto Rico as a state. Is the island part of the United States? Is it not? Or is it a undefined colonial status?
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