Jones Act Suspended for 60 Days as U.S. Scrambles to Tame Energy Prices [U.S.–Iran War]

The Donald Trump administration has launched an all-out effort to rein in energy prices, which have spiraled out of control in the wake of the war in the Middle East.
The White House announced on the 18th, local time, that it will temporarily suspend enforcement of the Jones Act, a shipping regulation that has been in place for more than 100 years, for the next 60 days. The move is widely seen as an attempt to break logistics bottlenecks and force open supply chains after international oil prices surged following the launch of the military campaign against Iran known as "Operation Epic Fury."
For the next two months, foreign-flagged ships will be allowed to move freely between U.S. ports, transporting crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), coal, fertilizer, and other key energy commodities.
Enacted in 1920, the Jones Act has restricted cargo shipments between U.S. ports to vessels that are built in the United States, owned by Americans, and U.S.-flagged. Behind the banner of protecting the domestic maritime industry, the law has been blamed for high logistics costs and rigid supply, and has often been cited as a major driver of higher prices in non-contiguous states such as Alaska and Hawaii. Analysts say it has become a particularly serious choke point for energy distribution in the current wartime environment.
Vice President JD Vance signaled that the waiver is only a first step, declaring, "We will roll out even stronger follow-up measures within the next 24 to 48 hours." According to a survey by the American Automobile Association (AAA), gasoline prices jumped 27 percent immediately after the war broke out, reaching an average of $3.84 per gallon, while diesel has already climbed past $5. With households and businesses hitting the limits of what they can bear, the administration appears to have shifted into full emergency mode.
Vance and U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright are scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on the 19th with the leadership of the American Petroleum Institute (API), the country’s most powerful oil lobby. They are expected to discuss a package of measures that could deliver a tangible drop in oil prices, including additional releases from the strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) and executive actions to boost domestic crude production. Vance stressed efforts to calm market jitters, saying, "The market will inevitably experience some turbulence over the next few weeks, but this will prove to be only a temporary phenomenon."
Financial markets, however, remain unimpressed. Many experts argue that the symbolic step of waiving the Jones Act will have only a limited impact on actual retail prices.
If Washington fails to cushion the economic blow, public support for the Trump administration could deteriorate rapidly and spill over into the November midterm elections. Should the government be unable to stabilize oil prices within the two-month window of the Jones Act suspension, subsequent measures are expected to be even more sweeping in scope.
km@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-min Reporter