“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 as the U.S. military continues meeting the objectives of Operation Epic Fury,” Leavitt said.
“This action will allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and coal to flow freely to U.S. ports for sixty days, and the Administration remains committed to continuing to strengthen our critical supply chains,” she added.
As CNBC notes, the Jones Act was enacted over 100 years ago:
The Jones Act, signed into law in 1920 by then-President Woodrow Wilson, requires that the transport of goods between U.S. ports must be conducted by U.S. vessels.
The law was intended as an effort to grow the domestic shipping industry after World War I. The statute has been criticized as a form of protectionism, and some economists have recently argued that it impedes domestic trade.
The move comes as gas prices have surged by nearly $1.00 per gallon in the last month amid Operation Epic Fury in Iran, and as the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil travels, has been disrupted.
According to AAA, the national average price of a gallon of gas on Thursday registered at $3.88, up from $2.92 a month ago. At the time of close on February 27, a day before Operation Epic Fury began, West Texas Intermediate crude prices were trading at 67.02, CNBC showed. As of late Thursday morning, they were trading around 97.00.
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