Trump Administration Extends Jones Act Waiver

Last week the Trump Administration extended the Jones Act waiver through September 22nd which, "will facilitate movement of refined petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, to be shipped from New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas to Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Puerto Rico." Click here to read the waiver.

Signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson in 1920, the Jones Act regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters and between U.S. ports. This nearly 100-year-old law requires that all goods transported between U.S. ports be carried in U.S. owned ships, built and registered in the U.S., and manned by U.S. citizens. The Jones Act was temporarily waived from September 1 to September 19, 2005 following Hurricane Katrina's landfall which allowed foreign vessels to carry crude oil between U.S. ports. In the summer of 2011, President Barack Obama waived the Jones Act to accelerate crude oil and refined product shipments to the U.S. due to the Libyan uprising causing the loss of over two million barrels of crude oil supply.

As we continue to move through hurricane season and quickly approach harvest, decision’s like extending the Jones Act waiver are necessary to free up the supply of petroleum products nationwide.