What is the Jones Act and why Trump wants to waive this 100-year-old law

In an attempt to ease soaring gasoline prices amid the war in Iran, President Trump on Wednesday announced a 60-day waiver on the Jones Act – a US shipping law that traces back more than a century and has been criticized for keeping energy prices sky-high.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the waiver would help “mitigate the short-term disruptions to the oil market” during the war in Iran and “allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and coal to flow freely to US ports.”The White House signaled last week that it was looking into a temporary suspension of the law, which Trump called “restrictive” – but what exactly is the Jones Act, and how much of an impact could it have on prices at gas pumps?The Jones Act was signed into law by then-President Woodrow Wilson as part of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 in an attempt to bolster the American shipping industry in the wake of World War I.It bans foreign-flagged ships from carrying cargo between US ports, instead requiring that American goods are shipped between stops by vessels that are US-built, owned by US citizens and registered in the US, which means they operate with an American crew.The longstanding US shipping law was an effort to ensure the US had a strong fleet in case of war, after Germany decimated America’s merchant ships and the domestic economy slipped into a recession.The Jones Act restricts foreign-flagged vessels from transporting all kinds of goods between US ports – including energy and petroleum products, which have become especially important amid the US and Israel’s war with Iran.Following joint US-Israeli air strikes on Iran on Feb.28, Tehran has blocked access to the Strait of Hormuz – a vital maritime route that transports 20% of the world’s oil supply.

It has reportedly set several oil tankers ablaze and threatened to attack vessels that dare to traverse the waterway. That has sent energy prices soaring, with Brent crude o...