US maritime and shipbuilding groups have strongly criticized reports that the Trump administration may extend a Jones Act waiver covering domestic shipping.
The administration issued a 60-day waiver on March 17, and reports suggest it could be extended to 90 days. No official confirmation has yet been issued by the White House.
The Jones Act regulates domestic shipping in the US and requires vessels operating between US ports to be US-built, US-flagged, US-owned and crewed by US mariners.
The waiver was designed to help reduce gasoline prices, which have averaged above $4 per gallon since the beginning of the war with Iran.
However, US maritime groups argue that waivers do not reduce fuel prices and instead damage the domestic maritime industrial base.
Matt Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America, said the administration should be strengthening American maritime and shipbuilding capacity during a period of global instability, not weakening it.
Jennifer Carpenter, president of the American Maritime Partnership, said an extension would undermine efforts to restore American maritime strength and would move jobs and opportunities toward foreign carriers.
Major Jones Act trades include refined product shipments from the US Gulf Coast to destinations along the East Coast, including Florida and the Northeast.
