Trump extends Jones Act waiver by 90 days

Photo: White House

In a post on X, White House assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers confirmed that President Trump has extended the 60-day waiver of the Jones Act that he signed on March 18 by another 90 days.

The news was not well received by U.S. maritime.

“This extension of an already historically long and ineffective Jones Act waiver is not only an affront to hundreds of thousands of hardworking Americans who put this country first every single day, it sabotages President Trump’s agenda to restore American maritime dominance,” said Jennifer Carpenter, President of the American Maritime Partnership (AMP), the voice of the U.S. domestic maritime industry. “Waiving the Jones Act exports American jobs to foreign carriers, allows them to skirt U.S. laws, and exposes the nation to national security threats by opening our maritime borders.”

Waiving domestic shipping laws cannot change the price of crude oil on world markets — the primary driver of what Americans pay at the pump, notes AMP. The Jones Act’s estimated impact is just one-tenth of a cent per gallon — a negligible share compared to taxes and refining costs.

“At a time of global instability, the administration should be strengthening, not weakening, the American maritime, shipbuilding and maritime supplier base that is the foundation of our national security. Waivers have unequivocally proven they do nothing to reduce gas prices for Americans,” said Matt Paxton, President of the Shipbuilders Council of America. “What waivers actually do is have a chilling effect on investments in commercial shipbuilding markets and create wide open ports and coastlines for any foreign ship or crew to call and gouge hardworking Americans while foreign energy companies and shippers get rich. These actions clearly demonstrate that this policy is ‘America last’.”

AMP says that, according to White House data shared with Axios, over 9 million barrels of fuel have been shipped under the waiver. The Administration has not disclosed what kinds of fuel this number includes. In 2023, the United States consumed an average of about 20.25 million barrels of petroleum per day, meaning waiver shipments represent only about 10 hours’ worth of fuel use over the entire country.

Jones Act vessels move petroleum products between U.S. ports, providing a reliable, American-controlled supply route that is insulated from foreign chokepoints. The U.S.-flagged fleet includes more than 45,000 containerships, freighters, tankers, articulated tug barges, offshore supply vessels, dredges, tugboats and barges. Over 100 of these vessels are American tankers and articulated tug-barges used to deliver fuel to Americans all across the country at stable, reliable rates.