US President Donald Trump’s administration announced a 90-day waiver of the Jones Act shipping law allowing foreign ships to transport oil and other commodities between US ports. However, the Trump’s decision requires a case-by-case review before allowing foreign vessels to carry domestic maritime commerce.
The 90-day extension to the Jones Act waiver, beginning August 17, comes as the war with Iran disrupts global crude oil flows and pushes up fuel costs, increasing pressure on the administration to find ways to ease transportation bottlenecks and keep energy prices from rising further.
The extension, finalised on Monday, ensures the US military and key industries maintain uninterrupted access to critical resources, White House deputy press secretary Taylor Rogers said on Monday.
“Data shows the waiver has driven a significant increase in domestic deliveries of essential products such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel,” Rogers said in a post on X.
“President Trump continues to take bold, commonsense action that protects and strengthens America’s economic and national security,” she continued.
The Jones Act applies to merchandise being transported by water between U.S. points. The law requires that this cargo is to be shipped solely aboard vessels that are U.S.-built, U.S.-citizen owned, and, registered in the U.S., which means crewed by Americans.
An often-asked question is “can the U.S.-owned, -built, -crewed, – registered requirements of the Jones Act be waived to allow foreign-flag vessels in some circumstances?” The answer is yes, the U.S. Maritime Administration notes, however, Jones Act exemptions are rare as the only basis for an exemption is “interest of national defense.”
The White House deputy press secretary confirmed the decision on Monday, leading to expressions of concern from the domestic shipping sector.
The American Maritime Partnership (AMP) expressed disappointment over the waiver’s extension but said the case-by-case review process was an improvement over the previous blanket Jones Act waiver.
Further, it urged the Trump Administration to conduct a rigorous review of the national defense justification for each and every waiver request and to carefully assess the availability of U.S. vessels before allowing a foreign vessel to move cargo between U.S. ports.
“AMP also underscores the importance of ensuring that any foreign vessel granted a waiver to meet a genuine national defense need for which a U.S. vessel is not available complies fully with all other applicable U.S. law, including tax, immigration, labor, etc. This is essential to putting American workers and taxpayers first,” said Jennifer Carpenter, president of AMP.
The American Waterways Operators, the national trade association of the American tugboat, towboat and barge industry, also welcomed the changes – including the requirement that the Department of War consult with the Maritime Administration on the availability of Jones Act-qualified vessels and a narrowing of the scope of commodities covered by the waiver – but argued that the public record from the last five months shows that the waiver has not been driven by military needs, has not reduced the price of gasoline for U.S. consumers, and has allowed foreign vessels, including those linked to U.S. adversaries like China and Russia, to take work from Americans.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) said that Jones Act waivers allow American energy to keep moving between US ports, strengthen supply security, and protect consumers from unnecessary price volatility.
“The administration extended a waiver that has already failed,” said Aaron Smith, president and chief executive officer of the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA). “Months in, Americans still aren’t seeing a dime of relief at the pump. Meanwhile, American mariners, vessel operators, and shipyards keep paying the price for a policy that was never going to work and has never worked. Every extra day this waiver stays in place is another day of work shipped overseas and another day of uncertainty for the U.S. maritime industry.”
