United States President Donald Trump has temporarily waived a century-old shipping law to help ease the cost of transporting oil, gas and other commodities within the US.The move allows foreign-flagged vessels to transport goods between US ports for the next 60 days, a step taken to ease the movement of energy supplies across the country.Recommended Stories list of 2 itemsend of list“This action will allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and coal to flow freely to US ports for sixty days,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X.Here is what we know:What is the Jones Act?The Jones Act, formally known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, was passed by Congress to rebuild the United States’s shipping industry after German U-boats devastated the country’s merchant fleet during World War I. The law was sponsored by Senator Wesley Jones of Washington state.At its core, the act requires that any ship transporting goods or passengers between US ports must be built in the US, owned by US citizens and crewed primarily by Americans. This in effect bars foreign-flagged vessels from participating in domestic maritime trade.The law allows for temporary waivers in the “interest of national defense,” according to the US Maritime Administration, typically granted by the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of Defense.The Jones Act was also designed to ensure the US could rely on its own merchant fleet during times of war. It continues to be strongly backed by some shipping companies, labour unions and national security advocates. Advertisement Critics, however, argue that restricting foreign competition has driven …
