Trump’s Jones Act waiver sparks long-term policy fight

Shipping cranes stand above containerships loaded with shipping containers at the Port of Los Angeles. (Mario Tama/Bloomberg)

Energy and shipping industry officials are locked in an increasingly bitter lobbying fight over the future of the century-old Jones Act, battling to determine the long-term fate of the critical protectionist law.

Oil and gas firms are emboldened by President Donald Trump’s wartime decision to allow foreign tankers to carry cargo between American ports, and argue the 150-day waiver implemented during the Iran war proves that American consumers will enjoy lower-priced gasoline, oil, jet fuel, ammonia and other products without the law’s protectionist restrictions.

Trump faces a deadline next month on whether to extend or end the waiver on the law, which requires vessels hauling cargo between American ports to be built, owned and crewed in the U.S.

Supporters of the Jones Act, including influential Republicans such as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), argue a retreat from the law could usher in sweeping change for the nation’s maritime industry and fatally undermine Trump’s pledge to boost U.S. shipbuilding and broader efforts to battle globalization. Private lenders are already pausing domestic maritime funding, citing the uncertainty around the law.

The looming extension has unleashed a torrent of lobbying, advertising and social media influencer posts from industries at odds over the measure. Ultimately, the decision may come down to what Trump prioritizes more: low prices or U.S. manufacturing. 

“Once you see something like this you can’t unsee it,” said Mike McKenna, a Republican strategist and energy lobbyist, who commends the reprieve for opening new energy routes in the U.S.

Support the Jones Act. Put America first.
President @realDonaldTrump, trust your instincts.
End the waiver.
Put Americans back to work. 🇺🇸⚓️ pic.twitter.com/StIsrW2FEB — AMP Maritime 🇺🇸 (@AMPmaritime) May 26, 2026

With the midterm elections looming, the oil lobby may have the upper hand. Gasoline prices remain elevated as recent strikes in the Strait of Hormuz have driven traffic back to the lowest levels in a month. Overall, the president’s tariffs continue to push costs higher. And Trump has previously voiced skepticism over the Jones Act, weighing but ultimately backing away from administrative action to undermine the law’s provisions in his first term.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said recently the issue remained under discussion. “It’s been very effective moving energy around,” Wright said June 24 at an event held by Reuters. “I’m sure the dialogue about what to do there will continue.”

Even without a renewal, the 150-day waiver has created an opening for Jones Act opponents to call for its removal. 

The American Petroleum Institute is pushing for policy changes that would create market-based triggers to automatically activate Jones Act allowances under an array of circumstances, including fuel supply shortages, disruptions and price spikes. Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity has spent upwards of $100,000 on digital ads demanding that the Jones Act be repealed. 

The path through Congress for actual repeal is tenuous, particularly considering the opposition of key House Republicans. Earlier this month, 52 House Republicans — including Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) — asked Trump to allow the current waiver to expire. 

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But the administration could still implement industry-specific waivers or provisions making it easier to offer exceptions.

Jones Act supporters fret that shipbuilding investment will falter in the wake of uncertainty around the law’s future. Previously .U.S presidents deployed the exemptions rarely — for days or weeks — such as after natural disasters including Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in 2017. 

Jones Act supporters say that the 106-year-old maritime law has contributed to expanding the number of cargo vessels built in the U.S., largely composed of tugboats, towboats and barges that handle trade in the Gulf and along inland or coastal waterways. 

The number of Jones Act-compliant vessels, not including passenger or crewboats, has risen 14% between 1991 and 2023 to 42,574 units. Even so, American shipbuilding capacity is dwarfed by other countries, including China, which produced nearly 1,800 large commercial vessels in 2022 compared to the U.S.’s five, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy wrote last year.

Domestic shipbuilders are nevertheless alarmed. A $1 billion in a planned capital raise from a U.S. maritime investment platform has already been halted because of uncertainty caused by the waiver, according to data from the Shipbuilders Council of America. There is also about $6 billion in fleet capitalization over the next five years that could be at risk, according to internal projections by the trade association seen by Bloomberg. 

“Banks and investors will not spend capital on something that could possibly disappear,” said Philadelphia-based ship captain Lawrence Strohm.

The American Maritime Partnership has created a digital ad in favor of the Jones Act, and more than a dozen social media influencers have posted supportive messages since mid-May.

“The facts increasingly suggest that the president is being misled,” said Clay Heil, the vice president of global government relations at U.S. shipping company Crowley Maritime Corp. Heil argued that the reprieve has not significantly reduced energy costs, while America’s maritime strength hangs in the balance due to potential lost jobs and stalled investment in shipbuilding capacity.

Bingo. There's almost zero shipbuilding (0.03% of global output) and there are far more effective/efficient means of providing US citizen crews to meet sealift needs. The Jones Act is a failure. https://t.co/PHae1KxIQe — Colin Grabow (@cpgrabow) July 13, 2026

Still, Trump’s waiver has pierced the perception that the Jones Act is invulnerable, according to Colin Grabow, an associate director at the libertarian Cato Institute, which opposes the statute. 

“Modernizing and taking a fresh look at the Jones Act is very appropriate, especially given the successes that we’ve seen over the last couple months,” said Anne Bradbury, CEO of the American Exploration and Production Council, which represents independent oil and gas producers. 

During Trump’s first term, his administration briefly considered expanding Jones Act requirements to vessels carrying equipment to offshore oil and gas facilities. But he also later weighed relaxing Jones Act mandates to facilitate shipments of liquefied natural gas to Massachusetts and Puerto Rico. 

Trump eventually abandoned that LNG plan because of political pressure from key Republicans, including his trade adviser Peter Navarro. But two advisers — Trump’s former chief economist, Casey Mulligan, and current National Economic Council Chairman Kevin Hassett — suggested in a pair of books that while Trump opted then to postpone action amid the political pushback, he remains skeptical of the protectionist measure.

“President Trump hates the Jones Act,” Mulligan wrote. 

Written by Amy Stillman, Ari Natter and Jennifer A. Dlouhy