Trump’s Waiver Of Jones Act Fails To Cool Oil Prices

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a 60-day waiver for the Jones Act in a bid to lower oil prices amid severe supply disruptions due to the closure of the Strait Of Hormuz. The Jones Act, aka Merchant Marine Act of 1920, is a federal statute requiring that all goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried on ships that are U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, U.S.-flagged and U.S.-crewed. The law is meant to ensure a reliable, domestic shipyard industrial base and skilled mariners in times of war or national emergency, and also protects…