By Costas Paris

President Trump temporarily waived a century-old shipping law in a bid to lower the cost of moving oil, gas and other fuels around the U.S.

Trump's move will allow foreign ships to move cargoes of vital products like jet fuel and fertilizer between U.S. ports for 60 days. That's a big change from the current law, which dates back to The Jones Act of 1920, and requires all goods moving between U.S. ports to sail on U.S.-flagged ships, which are built at American shipyards and crewed by U.S. sailors. That, in turn, makes those ships more expensive.

"President Trump's decision to issue a 60-day Jones Act waiver is just another step to mitigate the short-term disruptions to the oil market," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday.

The Jones Act was designed to promote and protect U.S. shipbuilding, but most tankers that can carry oil, fuels such as gasoline and diesel, and liquefied natural gas, aren't American made. It costs at least three times as much to build such vessels in the U.S. when compared with big shipbuilding nations like China and South Korea.

The waiver will allow foreign ships to temporarily move oil, coal, natural gas and refined petroleum products such as jet fuel among U.S. ports, which should help ease the cost of shipping. For instance, under the waiver, foreign tankers could be used to move gasoline and diesel fuel from refineries in Texas and Louisiana to the East Coast.

Waivers of the act are rare. The U.S. government granted one after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017 and again after the island was struck by Hurricane Fiona in 2022 to allow foreign ships to deliver aid and fuel between U.S. ports. Another waiver was granted in 2021 for fuel shipments to the East Coast after the Colonial Pipeline, the largest U.S. fuel pipeline, shut down following a cyberattack.

There are plenty of supporters of the Jones Act in both the Republican and Democratic parties. The American Maritime Partnership says the law supports hundreds of thousands of jobs and contributes $150 billion to the economy.

Detractors also come from both sides of the aisle. Democratic legislators in Hawaii and Puerto Rico want to see it eliminated, because they say it drives up the costs of everything from food to cars. Republicans have traditionally been steadfast supporters of the Jones Act, but two Republican legislators introduced a bill last summer to repeal it.

Many foreign shipowners and charterers say the Jones Act is a form of U.S. protectionism that raises prices.

This explanatory article may be periodically updated.

Write to Costas Paris at costas.paris@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 18, 2026 13:13 ET (17:13 GMT)