Trump is eyeing changes to an obscure law to slow soaring gas prices. It won't help much

President Donald Trump has few levers at his disposal to diminish a staggering spike in gas prices as the Iran war nears its third week. Now he’s eyeing a waiver to an obscure trade policy that will likely have limited effect in mitigating those price increases, at least on its own.

The White House said Thursday that it could relax shipping rules under the Jones Act, a century-old maritime law requiring goods shipped between U.S. ports to be carried on U.S.-owned ships with an American crew.

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"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,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

Bloomberg reported on Thursday that easing the Jones Act would apply to commercial ships transporting oil, gasoline, diesel, natural gas and fertilizer. All have experienced soaring prices since the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran late last month. A waiver would allow foreign-flagged ships to deliver goods between U.S. ports.

The Trump administration is exploring various options to provide relief at the gas pump for Americans already worn out from the rising cost of groceries, utilities and more. Putting the Jones Act on the table is the latest sign that the White House is feeling the political heat to address rising gas prices and contain the war’s financial fallout.

Gas prices reached a national average of $3.63 on Friday, according to AAA. A month ago, it was $2.94 per gallon.

Energy analysts, though, said a Jones Act waiver alone won’t produce the desired effect of a steep drop in gas prices.

“A waiver will not produce dramatic drops in fuel costs,” Colin Grabow, a trade policy expert at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, said in a Thursday blog post. “Transportation is just one of many factors that determine prices at the pump.”

"Think whatever you want about the Jones Act… the impact on retail gas prices will be less than 2 cents a gallon. Negligible,” Alex Jacquez, chief of policy and advocacy at the left-leaning Groundwork Collaborative said in a social media post.

That’s not the only major move for gas price relief this week. The Energy Department announced on Wednesday evening it planned to release 172 million barrels over four months from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the U.S.'s emergency stockpile of oil. It was part of a coordinated move with dozens of other nations also tapping into their emergency oil reserves in an effort to put a lid on oil price increases.

The Iran War unnerved energy markets and rocketed up oil prices, now hovering at $100 per barrel. Oil trading has been on a roller-coaster ride this week, fueled by uncertainty about the conflict’s duration and the threat of escalation.

In recent days, Iran retaliated by launching military strikes in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that accounts for one-fifth of global oil shipping. Commercial shipping companies have avoided the waterway, fearing loss of life and the possible destruction of their vessels.

The energy industry is alarmed by hostilities that seemingly have no end in sight. Trump has given mixed signals on whether the war will continue unabated or is close to achieving its objectives. The International Energy Agency said this week that the conflict caused “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.”

The Jones Act has been invoked during natural disasters before

The Jones Act hasn’t been on the White House agenda in the second Trump administration. But it has triggered policy discussions before.

The law has long stirred criticism among some trade observers who argue the Jones Act is a restrictive policy which inflates the cost of transporting goods and shipbuilding in the U.S.

“It constrains transportation options and raises costs,” Grabow said in the same blog post. “A law portrayed as indispensable to national security suddenly becomes optional when pressures mount.”

The Jones Act stirred fresh attention after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico with devastating effect in 2017 and again with Hurricane Fiona in 2022. Critics argued the law was saddling the island’s economy with higher prices since it forced commercial vessels to dock at a port in the U.S. mainland first to avoid punitive fees.

The Jones Act has been viewed as all but untouchable up to now. Trump is now weighing other once-unthinkable policy options on the table, such as intervening in oil futures markets, Reuters reported.

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