President Donald Trump has extended for 90 days a waiver that lets foreign-flagged ships carry oil and other goods between US ports, but imposed new limits after domestic shipbuilders and their allies in Congress said the policy was undercutting the American maritime industry.
The White House said the extension was finalized Monday. It comes as the war with Iran disrupts global crude flows and raises fuel costs, increasing pressure on the administration to ease transport bottlenecks.
The Jones Act, a century-old law, normally requires cargo moving between US ports to be carried on ships built, owned and operated by Americans. The previous waiver was already the longest suspension of the rules since they were enacted and has been used nearly 200 times since the start of the Iran war.
Gasoline prices are averaging $4 a gallon ahead of November's midterm elections, and Trump is running out of easy options to bring them down. Earlier Monday, he said oil companies such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron were making too much money from the price surge.