Key facts
- A White House official said the waiver runs 90 days and keeps the case-by-case review added in August.
- The Jones Act requires cargo between US ports to move on US-built, US-owned ships crewed by American workers.
- Roughly 300 waivers were granted under the earlier blanket exemptions, against 48 since individual approvals began in August, per government figures cited by Reuters.
- US diesel stood at $6.10 a gallon on November 12, up from $3.76 before the Iran war, according to AAA.
- The administration says the waiver aims to lower gasoline, diesel and fertilizer prices by easing transport bottlenecks.
- The waiver is the longest in the history of the shipping law, according to the report.
President Donald Trump extended a waiver of the Jones Act for 90 days, allowing foreign-flagged ships to transport oil and other commodities between US ports, a White House official said on November 13, 2026. The extension keeps in place the case-by-case approval process introduced in August, so foreign vessels still need approval for individual voyages.
The waiver is the longest in the history of the law, according to the report. The administration issued a blanket waiver in March, a month after the US launched the war on Iran, in an effort to lower oil and fuel prices. In August it extended the waiver but required decisions to be made case by case after earlier blanket exemptions drew opposition from the domestic maritime industry.
Roughly 300 waivers were granted under the earlier blanket exemptions in March and May, compared with 48 since the switch to individual approvals in August, according to government figures cited by Reuters. Shippers must prove that suitable American vessels are unavailable before getting approval to use foreign ships.
The Jones Act requires cargo moving between US ports to be carried on ships built in the US, owned by US companies and crewed by American workers. Suspending the law opens a much larger pool of ships. Phillips 66 was among the first to take advantage of the original waiver, shipping roughly 300,000 barrels of Bakken crude from Texas to Monroe Energy's Trainer refinery in Pennsylvania aboard the Malta-flagged HTM Warrior in April.
The administration says the waiver aims to lower gasoline, diesel and fertilizer prices driven up by the war on Iran by increasing shipping flexibility and reducing transport bottlenecks. US gasoline averaged $3.91 per gallon on November 12, compared with $2.98 before the Iran war began, and diesel stood at $6.10, up from $3.76, according to AAA. Shipping accounts for only a small portion of retail gasoline prices, and critics estimate that relaxing the Jones Act would save consumers mere pennies per gallon.
More than 50 Republican lawmakers urged Trump in June to restore the restrictions, citing American maritime jobs and national security concerns. The length of waivers has been limited in the past because the Jones Act is supported by the domestic shipbuilding business, a lobby across the country.