Trump temporarily waives US shipping law for oil and gas to lower prices
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: US President Donald Trump has temporarily waived a long-standing shipping mandate to lower the cost of transporting oil, gas and other commodities around the US in efforts to slow the rapidly rising energy costs brought about by the war in Iran.
The context: On Wednesday US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said via X: “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.”
“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.”
The move means that foreign-flagged vessels will be authorised to transport a range of commodities between US ports for the next 60 days, Bloomberg reported. The waiver exempts requirements that cargo carried between US ports must be transported on US-flagged, -built and -owned ships, allowing foreign vessels to temporarily ship several products. This includes coal, crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas, natural gas liquids, fertiliser, anything using refined petroleum products as a primary feedstock and other energy derivatives, White House officials told Bloomberg.
The move comes after Trump mused about “finishing off” Iran in a Truth Social post that suggested the US could walk away from providing security to allied ships in the Strait of Hormuz if US allies don’t provide military assistance to secure the passage.
“I wonder what would happen if we “finished off” what’s left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don’t, be responsible for the so called “Strait?” That would get some of our non-responsive “Allies” in gear, and fast!!!” Trump wrote.
In the Gulf, oil producers including Saudi Aramco’s Samref and Jubail facilities, began evacuating multiple sites after Iran issued a list of potential targets. Iran issued the list after Israel and the US targeted facilities linked to Iran’s South Pars field, the first strike on Iran’s upstream facilities since the war began. The updates saw Brent crude climb more than 5% to above USD109 a barrel.
The sources: Karoline Leavitt X, Bloomberg, WSJ
