Overview
- Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration is considering a short Jones Act waiver to keep energy and agricultural shipments moving, with no final decision or timing announced.
- Reports describe a 30‑day exemption in development that would let foreign tankers carry oil, gasoline, diesel, liquefied natural gas, and fertilizer between U.S. ports to relieve Gulf‑to‑East Coast constraints.
- The potential waiver accompanies a U.S. release of 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve within an International Energy Agency plan totaling 400 million barrels as oil tops $100 and Hormuz traffic is disrupted.
- Expected consumer impact is limited, with estimates ranging from only a few cents per gallon at retail to about 10 cents on the East Coast, while national gas prices hover near $3.60–$3.63 a gallon.
- Such waivers are rare and politically sensitive, with past exceptions granted after major storms and a 2022 Puerto Rico shipment, and shipbuilding and maritime labor interests strongly defending the law.