Trump extends Jones Act waiver for 90 days, narrows scope

Under the new terms, the administration has narrowed the scope of the relief, requiring individual voyages to undergo case-by-case review rather than allowing foreign ships to receive blanket exemptions from the Jones Act, a White House official confirmed.

The Jones Act requires cargo moving between U.S. ports to be carried on ships built in the U.S., owned by U.S. companies and crewed by American workers, and the waiver aims to lower gas prices by increasing shipping flexibility and reducing transport bottlenecks.

The waiver was set to expire on August 16 without the extension. It is the longest suspension of the more than century-old law in its history.

Targeted Jones Act waivers provide critical flexibility to move American energy efficiently between U.S. ports and deliver fuels to consumers at a time of ongoing global market volatility, industry trade group The American Petroleum Institute (API) said.