President Trump on Monday extended the Jones Act waiver for another 90 days beginning August 17, while narrowing it from a blanket exemption to case-by-case voyage review — a shift that Shipbuilders Council of America President Matthew Paxton, American Waterways Operators (AWO) and the American Maritime Partnership (AMP) all welcomed, even as each said the waiver should not have been extended at all. Maritime Administration data showed 212 voyages had been completed under the exemption as of August 8. AWO argued the five-month public record shows the waiver was not driven by military needs and failed to reduce gasoline prices, while AMP's Jennifer Carpenter said it had been used to increase oil traders' margins; Cato Institute analysts put the volume moved at more than 54 million barrels of energy products across 200-plus voyages. The extension is tied to the continuing war with Iran, which the administration says is disrupting energy flows and raising fuel prices.
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The industry groups' qualified welcome follows the August 10 extension in which the shift to case-by-case review was first reported.
