Trump Extends the Jones Act Waiver 90 Days to Fight Fuel Prices, but Critics Say It Saves Only Pennies
President Donald Trump on Friday extended the Jones Act waiver for another 90 days, keeping foreign-flagged ships eligible to haul fuel and fertilizer between U.S. ports as the Iran war keeps prices high.
The current waiver was set to expire in two days, the Washington Examiner reported. The extension takes effect at 12 a.m. ET on Nov. 16, preventing a lapse, a White House official told Bloomberg.
The 1920 law requires cargo moving between American ports to travel on ships that are U.S.-built, U.S.-owned and crewed by Americans. Waiving it opens a much larger pool of tankers.
The administration first suspended the rules in March, a month after the war began.
The extension continues what is already the longest waiver in the law’s history, OilPrice.com reported.
The new extension keeps the case-by-case review added in August, when earlier blanket exemptions drew opposition from the domestic maritime industry. Shippers must show suitable American vessels are unavailable, and the Maritime Administration is consulted before each voyage, WorkBoat reported. Eligible cargo includes gasoline, jet fuel, crude oil, liquefied natural gas, soy oil and fertilizers.
That tighter process has cut use sharply. Roughly 300 waivers were granted under the blanket exemptions in March and May, compared with 48 since August, according to government figures cited by OilPrice.com.
The White House said the waivers have moved about 90 million additional barrels of petroleum between U.S. ports since March, including 27 million barrels of gasoline and 26 million barrels of crude oil, Oil and Gas 360 reported.
Drivers are still paying far more than before the war. AAA put the national average for gasoline at $3.91 a gallon on Thursday, up from $2.98 before the fighting began, while diesel averaged $6.10, up from $3.76, OilPrice.com reported. CDN reported earlier Friday on gas prices heading into Thanksgiving.
Whether the waiver helps much at the pump is in dispute. Shipping is a small share of retail gasoline prices, and critics estimate that relaxing the Jones Act saves consumers only pennies a gallon.
Shipbuilders and congressional backers of the law opposed another extension, saying it undercuts the domestic shipbuilding base, Bloomberg reported. More than 50 Republican lawmakers urged Trump in June to restore the restrictions, citing maritime jobs and national security.
“AMP calls for a prompt end to the waiver,” the American Maritime Partnership said, urging the administration to make sure approved waivers “are not used to displace American vessels and American workers for routine commercial moves.”
Oil and chemical companies, meanwhile, say the waiver has let them move crude, fertilizer and other commodities more efficiently and at lower cost.
Content created by Conservative Daily News and some content syndicated through CDN is available for re-publication without charge under the Creative Commons license. Visit our syndication page for details and requirements.
