House Leaders To Trump: Let Jones Act Waiver Expire

Republican leaders in the House of Representatives, including Speaker Mike Johnson and 51 members of Congress, urged President Donald Trump in a July 1 letter to allow the temporary Jones Act waiver to expire on August 16 rather than extending it again.

In the letter, the Republicans point out that the waiver contradicts the president’s own goal of revitalizing the U.S. merchant marine and domestic shipbuilding industries.

“We appreciate your longstanding support and attention to the challenges facing our domestic shipping industry,” the letter reads, in part. “As you outlined in your visionary Maritime Action Plan (MAP), a strong maritime industrial base is essential to the nation’s economic and national security, particularly as the United States works to reinforce its global strategic position. Your acknowledgement in the MAP that less than 1% of new commercial ships are built in the United States underscores the importance of protecting durable domestic maritime policy and safeguarding against foreign encroachment in our nation’s waterways. Our nation’s strongest shield against foreign exploitation of American waterways is the Jones Act, which requires vessels transporting cargo between U.S. ports to be American-built, American-owned, American-crewed and American-flagged.”

“New data compiled since the initial Jones Act waiver was issued revealed that significantly more supply was able to reach U.S. ports faster,” Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman, told Reuters. However, waiver opponents argue that the waiver has had no discernible effect on gasoline prices, which was the initial reason for enacting it.