President Donald Trump's administration said it will continue to waive domestic shipping requirements under the Jones Act for another 90 day, albeit with stronger oversight than the previous waiver.
The waiver, first enacted 17 March, will now require the Department of Defense to consult with the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) on the availability of Jones Act vessels prior to an individual shipping voyage before determining whether the waiver can be applied, a White House official told Argus.
This marks a shift from the waiver's current iteration, valid through 16 August, that relies on the vessel operator or charterer documenting their reasoning. As of 7 August, MARAD data show that around half of the reasons given for the 212 documented Jones Act waiver voyages simply cite the shipment's coverage under the waiver, while only 19 entries mention Jones Act vessels not being available.
The new waiver still covers most products that were covered previously, such a diesel, gasoline, crude, soybean oil and fertilizers, but coal and coal-derived products are no longer allowed, according to the official.
US-based shipping groups expressed strong opposition to a waiver extension, particularly under the existing blanket waiver authority used since March.
"The government can respond to a genuine emergency without turning an exceptional waiver into a standing invitation for foreign operators to enter routine domestic commerce," former US federal maritime commissioner William Doyle said in an op-ed in the Washington Examiner on 10 August.
The Trump administration issued the waiver of the Jones Act — which allowed foreign flagged and owned vessels to carry US-to-US shipments in place of US-flagged, US-owned and US-crewed vessels — on 17 March on national security grounds under section 501a and later extended it by 90 days. But some of the voyages conducted under the waiver have been criticized by the domestic maritime industry as not serving any national security purpose. The waiver was issued to ensure US airfields and military installations are properly supplied with fuel, but has otherwise been highly popular with US refiners.
Republican lawmakers urged Trump in July to restore the Jones Act, calling the waiver "a loophole exploited by adversarial countries to erode America's maritime dominance".
