Trump extends 'transportation of foreign ships between U.S. ports' again... Response to oil price rise

Reuters reported on the 13th (local time) that U.S. President Donald Trump extended the grace period for the Jones Act, which grants only domestic ships the right to transport between domestic ports, for another 90 days.

This decision to extend was made two days before the expiration of the Jones Act moratorium on the 15th.

Previously, the Trump administration implemented the Jones Act moratorium in March to respond to rising energy costs in the aftermath of the Iran war, and later extended the moratorium two more times for 90 days each.

With this renewal, the Trump administration's suspension of the Jones Act becomes the longest in history.

The Jones Act, enacted in 1920, stipulates that only U.S.-flagged ships built in the United States and owned by Americans may transport cargo between U.S. ports.

This is a measure to protect domestic ships, but if cargo transportation by foreign flag ships is restricted by the Jones Act, logistics costs will increase accordingly.

In the U.S. midterm elections held earlier this month, the Republican Party suffered a crushing defeat to the Democratic Party as the rising cost of living, including oil prices, emerged as a key issue.

According to the White House, an additional 90 million barrels of petroleum products have been transported between U.S. ports since the Jones Act moratorium went into effect in March.

Additional transported petroleum products include 27 million barrels of gasoline, 26 million barrels of crude oil, and 6 million barrels of renewable fuel.