Jones Act

Trump May Waive the Jones Act for Oil Shipments. Let's Repeal It Instead.

The century-old law makes energy more expensive even when there isn't a war raging in the Middle East.

Joe Lancaster | 3.10.2026 12:15 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google

Media Contact & Reprint Requests

(JIM LO SCALZO/UPI/Newscom)

One of the spillover effects of the recently launched war in Iran is higher energy costs: The prices of oil and gas have risen considerably since President Donald Trump piggybacked on Israel's bombing campaign.

Now, Trump is reportedly considering a workaround to address the problem in the short term, by suspending enforcement of a protectionist law. That's a good start, but we should go one step further and repeal it altogether.

"The war has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical choke point between the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean," Reason's Eric Boehm wrote Monday. "A large portion of the world's oil supply flows through it."

"The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, briefly surged to $119.50 per barrel on Monday—its highest level since the summer after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022," the Associated Press reported. While it later fell back into the double digits, there is every indication that oil prices will continue to be a major concern.

On Monday, Reuters reported that Trump was considering a series of options to........

© Reason.com