Gasoline prices have surged since conflict broke out in the Middle East between Iran and the U.S., with the former escalating its attacks on oil tankers and infrastructure in the region. President Trump just waived the 106-yr-old Jones Act to help alleviate the subsequent pain at the pump, a law which really belongs in the scrap bin of history.
Intended to maintain a strong domestic maritime industry, the Jones Act requires goods shipped between American ports to be transported on vessels that are built, owned, flagged, and crewed by the U.S. No other comparably stringent regulations exist for other means of transportation.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt previously stated, “In the interest of national defense, the White House is considering waiving the Jones Act for a limited period of time to ensure vital energy products and agricultural necessities are flowing freely to U.S. ports.” Ironic that the very law imposed for national interest must be waived for national interest.
But it also begs the question: If waiving the act will reduce prices at the pump (and on other goods), why are we keeping a statute that raises them in the first place?
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