White House weighs extending Jones Act waiver to curb fuel prices

The White House is expected to decide in the coming days whether to extend a waiver of the Jones Act, which requires cargo transported between US ports to be carried on US-built, US-flagged vessels with American crews.

The measure is intended to help lower gasoline prices, Caliber.Az reports per Reuters.

The current waiver expires on August 16. Over the past four and a half months, it has been used nearly 200 times, making it the longest-running exemption in the program's history, the report added.

Sources told Reuters that no final decision has been made. The administration is considering extending the waiver mechanism while narrowing its scope. Discussions involve White House officials, representatives of the maritime industry and members of Congress.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the existing waiver has already helped reduce energy prices in California and along the East Coast. He added that fuel prices are expected to decline further in the coming weeks and said another extension of the exemptions is likely.

“President Trump believes in markets and he believes in capitalism. But he'll ​use every tool he has, including the bully pulpit, to try to encourage and put pressure to lower energy prices for Americans,” Wright said at a press conference.

The Trump administration is seeking ways to bring down gasoline prices, which average more than $4 per gallon, ahead of the November midterm elections. Against that backdrop, President Donald Trump has intensified his public criticism of oil majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron, arguing they are making “too much money” and should pass some of those gains on to consumers through lower fuel prices.

However, the proposed extension faces opposition from parts of the US maritime industry and some Republican lawmakers. They argue that broad use of the waivers gives foreign shipping companies an unfair advantage, weakens the US merchant fleet and undermines the Jones Act's national security objectives.

By Jeyhun Aghazada