Trump waives U.S. shipping law for 60 days to steady oil market

President Donald Trump has issued a 60-day waiver of longstanding U.S. shipping laws in an effort to stabilize oil markets amid the Iran war, the White House confirmed to CNBC on Wednesday.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the temporary suspension of the Jones Act “will allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and coal to flow freely into U.S. ports for sixty days.”

Leavitt said the Trump administration “remains committed to continuing to strengthen our critical supply chains.”

The Jones Act, signed into law by then-President Woodrow Wilson in 1920, requires the transportation of goods between US ports to be carried out by US ships.

The law was intended as an effort to grow the domestic maritime industry after World War I. The regulation has been criticized as a form of protectionism, and some economists have recently argued that it is prohibited. hinders internal trade.

Trump’s two-month exemption was announced as oil prices were on the rise again as a result of the US-Israeli war in Iran, in which major energy infrastructure was attacked and the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil shipping route, was effectively closed.

International benchmark Brent prices rose more than 6% on Wednesday morning, reaching over $109 per barrel. US oil prices rose 2.95% to $99.05 per barrel.

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— CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.