White House Considers Extending Jones Act Waiver Again to Curb Oil Prices
Miles Bennett
With U.S. crude back near $80 a barrel amid tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, the White House is weighing a third Jones Act waiver to let foreign ships carry domestic oil — a decision that will shape near-term energy costs and expose the deepening tension between cheap fuel and a century-old shipping-protection regime.
What is the Jones Act, and why waive it?
The Jones Act — a 1920 law requiring that cargo moved between U.S. ports travel on ships that are American-built, American-owned, and American-crewed — has been in force for over a century.
This means → U.S. domestic shipping capacity is locked inside a small, protected fleet. When international sea lanes tighten, domestic capacity hits a wall almost immediately.
With the Strait of Hormuz under sustained tension and oil near $80 a barrel, the White House chose to waive the law, opening domestic routes to foreign vessels. In plain terms = more ships carrying oil means faster delivery and lower prices.
How many times has it been waived this year?
In March, the Trump administration announced a 60-day waiver, citing supply-chain pressure from the Hormuz crisis.
On April 24, Trump signed an extension adding 90 days, pushing the deadline to August 16. Assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers said the pause "allowed more supply to reach U.S. ports faster."
Separately, the administration tapped the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — the government's emergency oil stockpile — to release crude onto the market. U.S. reserves have now fallen to one of their lowest levels since 1983.
What would change in a third extension?
Reuters, citing two people familiar with the matter, reports the White House convened energy, transport, and interior officials this week to discuss options.
One proposal: keep letting foreign ships run domestic routes but add geographic restrictions, limiting the waiver to specific regions.
This means → the White House is searching for a middle ground — keep pushing prices down while shrinking the political target. A final decision is expected by the end of this month.
Who opposes the waiver, and why?
U.S. shipping companies and shipbuilders argue the waiver undercuts domestic competitiveness — foreign operators run at lower cost and are taking their business.
Several Republican lawmakers — including House Speaker Mike Johnson — have publicly called for the waiver to end this month, warning that long-term reliance on foreign vessels will erode America's maritime industrial base and national security.
In plain terms = the opposition's logic is straightforward: high oil prices are a short-term problem, but once the domestic shipping industry shrinks, it takes a decade to rebuild.
What does this standoff reveal?
Whether the waiver is extended a third time is, at its core, a trade-off: near-term fuel costs vs. the long-term foundation of the U.S. shipping industry.
This reflects a deeper structural weakness — America's century-old shipping-protection framework lacks flexibility in a global energy crisis, and every new shock is met with another temporary patch.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is near historic lows. If the waiver also expires without renewal, the White House's toolkit for containing oil prices shrinks further.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.