The White House is preparing to extend its suspension of the Jones Act as President Donald Trump searches for additional ways to lower gasoline prices that remain above $4 a gallon nationally.

The waiver allows foreign-built and foreign-flagged vessels to transport fuel and other energy products between U.S. ports, temporarily bypassing a century-old law that ordinarily reserves domestic shipping routes for American-built, owned and crewed vessels.

The current exemption is scheduled to expire August 16. It has already been used nearly 200 times since March, making it the longest and broadest Jones Act waiver on record.

For refiners and fuel distributors, the waiver expands the pool of tankers available to move gasoline, diesel and crude between regions when domestic vessels are scarce or expensive. It can reduce transportation bottlenecks and help supplies reach markets facing localized shortages.

Its effect at the pump has been far smaller. Industry analysts estimate that another extension would likely lower gasoline prices by only pennies per gallon because shipping costs represent a limited share of the final retail price. Crude prices, refinery margins and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz remain much larger forces.

That leaves the administration promoting a policy that improves logistics without solving the underlying affordability problem. The waiver may help prevent regional price spikes, particularly along the East and West coasts, but it cannot offset a sustained increase in global oil prices.

The proposal is also dividing Republicans. House Speaker Mike Johnson and other lawmakers have urged Trump to let the waiver expire, arguing that repeated exemptions weaken the domestic maritime industry and transfer business to foreign ships and crews. Maritime unions and U.S. vessel operators have raised similar objections.

The White House is considering narrowing the next extension rather than continuing the current waiver unchanged. A more limited exemption could target particular fuels, ports or supply emergencies while preserving more cargo for American operators.

For consumers, the immediate question is whether the waiver prevents shortages rather than whether it produces a dramatic price decline. For businesses dependent on trucking, delivery fleets and air travel, meaningful relief will still depend primarily on what happens to crude supplies and shipping through the Persian Gulf.

JBizNews Desk | Wall Street

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