What happened in fuel markets when Trump lifted the century-old Jones Act
One of the most drastic measures taken by the Trump administration to tame fuel costs during the Iran war: suspending the Jones Act to allow foreign ships to haul fuel and other industrial commodities between U.S. ports.
The law was enacted after World War I and is intended to preserve the domestic shipbuilding industry by restricting shipping between U.S. ports to American-made, crewed and flagged vessels. The fleet of ships that fit the bill is small, which can add to the cost of shipping between domestic ports.
Suspending the act was meant to remove that additional layer of costs. President Trump has lately voiced displeasure with fuel prices, which haven’t declined from their wartime highs as quickly as he would like. That is spurring debate about the merits of the century-old Jones Act, which is likely to intensify ahead of Aug. 15, when Trump’s 150-day suspension is set to lapse.
Here, according to Maritime Administration data, are the voyages reported in the first 90 days after the law was lifted:
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“I’m concerned that if this extended waiver is allowed to continue, we will quickly become fully and needlessly reliant on foreign ships—owned and crewed by foreign companies—for our economic security,” U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D., Calif.) said last month at a Maritime Administration budget hearing.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/what-happened-in-fuel-markets-when-trump-lifted-the-century-old-jones-act/ar-AA279sMV
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