Trump extends Jones Act waiver another 90 days to keep fuel prices in check

President Trump on Friday extended the Jones Act waiver for another 90 days, letting foreign ships keep moving goods between U.S. ports as part of the administration's push to hold down fuel costs, the Washington Examiner reports. The current waiver was set to expire in two days.

The Jones Act normally requires cargo moved between U.S. ports to travel on ships that are U.S.-built, U.S.-flagged and U.S.-crewed. The administration first waived it in March, shortly after the Iran war began and global fuel prices jumped.

A White House official told the Washington Examiner that about 90 million more barrels of product have moved between U.S. ports under the waiver, including 27 million barrels of gasoline, 26 million barrels of crude oil and 6 million barrels of renewable fuels. It is now the longest Jones Act waiver in the law's history.

GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan told the paper earlier this month that without the waiver, "gas prices and diesel would be quite a bit more elevated."

As of Friday, AAA put the national average at $3.87 a gallon for gas and $6.06 for diesel. The domestic shipping group American Maritime Partnership called for a "prompt end" to the waiver.