Trump Extends Jones Act Waiver Amid Concerns Over Energy Costs

President Donald Trump extended the waiver of the Jones Act for another 90 days, allowing more lower-cost energy to be transported from the South to New England. The waiver will take effect on August 17 and is a policy move that could help reduce transportation bottlenecks for petroleum products in the region.

The Jones Act is a 1920s-era law requiring cargo moved between two U.S. points to travel on a vessel that is U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, and authorized for coastwise trade. This has led to a counterintuitive situation where foreign tankers can carry LNG from Trinidad to Boston, but domestic vessels cannot make the trip.

According to Representative J.C. Bernardy (R-South Hampton), the Jones Act leaves New England buying foreign LNG even as the United States exports enormous quantities of gas from the Gulf Coast. 'The Jones Act prevents us from getting domestic gas from the Gulf ports up here,' he said at an energy policy roundtable in Manchester hosted by Americans for Prosperity.

Bernardy pointed out that this results in New England buying LNG on the international market, which is typically five times more expensive than domestic natural gas. This is driving electric rates and is a 'core problem' according to Bernardy.