Free Trade

Trump's Temporary Waiver of the Jones Act Only Illustrates Why the Law Should Be Permanently Trashed

The Trump administration has issued a 60-day waiver of a federal law that limits the number of ships allowed to carry goods between American ports.

Eric Boehm | 3.18.2026 4:50 PM

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The Trump administration has issued a 60-day waiver of a federal law that limits the number of ships allowed to carry goods between American ports.

The move, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in a post on Twitter, is meant to "mitigate the short-term disruptions to the oil market" caused by the ongoing war in Iran. "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," she added.

That's a framing that demands a follow-up question. If waiving that law will make it easier (and presumably cheaper) for Americans to access vital resources for the next 60 days, why stop there?

Indeed, the White House's announcement seems to be a glaring admission that the........

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