Trump Seeks to Extend Waiver of Jones Act Shipping Rules for U.S. Oil

Trump is pushing to keep in place a temporary suspension of the U.S. maritime law known as the Jones Act, according to Axios, citing U.S. officials. The waiver was introduced during the Iran conflict to speed up domestic oil movements and ease logistics constraints. The Jones Act, enacted in 1920, mandates that cargo shipped between U.S. ports travel on American-flagged vessels, a requirement widely seen as raising coastwise shipping costs. As fuel prices climbed amid the Iran conflict, Trump signed a 60-day waiver on March 18 to streamline oil transportation. White House data show that since the waiver took effect, 40 tankers have been able to move oil between U.S. ports, including routes from California to Texas, Florida and Alaska. The administration said the measure effectively expanded available tanker capacity by 70% and helped lower transportation costs.