Trump extends Jones Act waiver, ends blanket exemptions

President Trump has extended the Jones Act waiver for another 90 days while narrowing its scope, requiring foreign-flag vessels to obtain approval voyage by voyage rather than operating under a blanket exemption, the White House said Monday.

The extension was finalized Aug. 10, six days before the waiver was set to expire on Aug. 16. It keeps the Jones Act suspended into mid-November, for a total of more than 240 days — the longest suspension of the 1920 law in its history.

The narrowing follows months of pressure from shipbuilders, maritime labor, and their allies in Congress, who argued the open-ended waiver was undermining the domestic maritime industrial base. A White House official confirmed that individual voyages will now undergo case-by-case review rather than allowing foreign ships to receive ​blanket exemptions from the Jones Act.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said the 90-day extension ensures the U.S. military and key industries maintain uninterrupted access to critical resources. In a post on X, Rogers said, "Data shows the waiver has driven a significant increase in domestic deliveries of essential products such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel."

The administration has granted roughly 208 exemptions to the Jones Act over about four and a half months through Aug. 3, according to U.S. government data.

The American Maritime Partnership (AMP), an industry trade group, called the case-by-case requirement a step in the right direction while objecting to the extension itself.

"President Trump's decision to require a case-by-case review before allowing foreign vessels to carry domestic maritime commerce is an improvement over the previous blanket Jones Act waiver, which took work from American mariners and shipbuilders and froze investment in the maritime industrial base," said AMP President Jennifer Carpenter.

"However, we are disappointed that the waiver has been extended when the public record is clear: the waiver has not lowered fuel prices for American consumers and has been used to increase oil traders' margins, not meet military needs," Carpenter said.

She called on the administration to apply the new review rigorously: "AMP urges the Trump Administration to conduct a rigorous review of the national defense justification for each and every waiver request and to carefully assess the availability of U.S. vessels before allowing a foreign vessel to move cargo between U.S. ports."

Carpenter also pressed for enforcement of other U.S. requirements on any foreign vessel operating under a waiver. "AMP also underscores the importance of ensuring that any foreign vessel granted a waiver to meet a genuine national defense need for which a U.S. vessel is not available complies fully with all other applicable U.S. law, including tax, immigration, labor, etc. This is essential to putting American workers and taxpayers first."

The American Waterways Operators (AWO), which represents the U.S. tug, towing, and barge industry, said in a statement: “While AWO appreciates the dialogue with administration officials that led to changes to this waiver — including the requirement that the Department of War consult with the Maritime Administration on the availability of Jones Act-qualified vessels and a narrowing of the scope of commodities covered by the waiver — we are deeply disappointed that the waiver has been extended when the public record over the last five months makes clear that the waiver has not been driven by military needs (the statutory standard), has not reduced the price of gasoline for U.S. consumers, and has allowed foreign vessels, including those linked to U.S. adversaries like China and Russia, to take work from Americans.

“Our work is not over; it now moves into a different phase: working with the Trump administration and Congress to ensure that any request by a foreign vessel to use the waiver is scrutinized carefully to ensure that it meets a legitimate national defense need that cannot be met by a qualified U.S. vessel, and that any foreign vessel carrying cargo in U.S. domestic commerce comply fully with all applicable U.S. tax, immigration, labor, and environmental laws,” the association said.

Matthew Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America trade association, said, “While global instability highlights the critical need to strengthen the American maritime, shipbuilding, and supplier base, we are encouraged that the administration is taking a key step forward by adopting a limited Jones Act waiver process — one that strictly verifies domestic ship availability and restricts eligible cargo to prevent foreign exploitation.

"Broad Jones Act waivers stifle the long-term capital investments essential to our commercial shipbuilding markets, maritime fleet, and domestic supply chains. As the U.S. shipyard industrial base works alongside the Trump administration to spark a generational revitalization of our maritime sector, any future waivers during this 90-day period must be strictly justified on a national security basis to safeguard this."

Another trade group, the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA), said the extension prolongs a policy that has not delivered.

"The administration extended a waiver that has already failed," said Aaron Smith, OMSA president and CEO. "Months in, Americans still aren't seeing a dime of relief at the pump. Meanwhile, American mariners, vessel operators, and shipyards keep paying the price for a policy that was never going to work and has never worked. Every extra day this waiver stays in place is another day of work shipped overseas and another day of uncertainty for the U.S. maritime industry."

OMSA said Congress created the Jones Act's waiver authority to address genuine national security needs rather than to serve as a standing commercial policy tool.

Smith questioned the national defense basis for the cargoes actually moving. "Under the law, this waiver was supposed to be about national security, however, not a single ounce of cargo transported under the waiver is military grade." He added, "If the administration is serious about national security, American energy security, resilient supply chains, and a strong maritime industrial base, it should end this failed experiment and recommit to American vessels, American mariners, and American jobs."

The American Petroleum Institute (API), a trade association for the oil and natural gas industry, welcomed the move, saying targeted waivers give the industry flexibility to move American energy efficiently between U.S. ports amid volatile global markets. Kristin Whitman, API's senior vice president of government relations, said the step will "ensure critical fuels reach the regions that need them most" and help shield consumers from unnecessary price swings.

Analysts and industry experts have said that while the waiver increases tanker availability, its effect on pump prices is likely limited to pennies per gallon.

Trump first waived the Jones Act on March 18 for 60 days, citing the need to ease energy prices after the war with Iran cut off roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply. The waiver was extended once before, in May, over unified objections from the U.S. maritime industry.

The Jones Act requires cargo moving between U.S. ports to be carried on vessels that are built in the United States, owned by U.S. companies and crewed by American mariners. Supporters say it underpins national security by sustaining a domestic fleet and mariner pool available in wartime; the American Maritime Congress estimates the law supports nearly 650,000 American jobs and more than $154 billion in annual economic output.

Critics — including energy producers, refiners, and agricultural shippers — contend the build and crew requirements raise shipping costs and constrain capacity during supply disruptions.

The war with Iran continues to disrupt global crude flows, keeping upward pressure on fuel costs and on the administration to find ways to relieve transportation bottlenecks.