The American Maritime Partnership (AMP) has called on President Donald Trump to let the emergency Jones Act waiver lapse on 15 November, arguing that its continuation threatens domestic maritime investment without delivering meaningful fuel-price savings. According to gCaptain, AMP president Jennifer Carpenter made the appeal in a letter to the White House on 3 November, saying another extension would undermine the administration’s maritime ambitions.
The waiver was introduced on 17 March following energy market disruption caused by the war with Iran. It permits foreign-flagged ships to move specified cargoes between US ports, trades normally restricted to qualifying American vessels. The administration has extended the measure twice. Its latest extension, in August, required the Maritime Administration to check whether suitable US vessels were available before approving individual foreign-vessel movements.
AMP acknowledged that those checks had curtailed foreign-vessel activity while keeping essential cargo moving. Nevertheless, the group said the narrower exemption continued to damage the domestic industry. As reported by gCaptain, AMP cited published analyses showing no demonstrated fall in retail fuel prices attributable to the waiver, with the largest estimated gasoline-price benefit below half a cent per gallon. It argued that foreign access to domestic trades could not address disrupted international shipping routes, tight inventories or refining economics.
Investment uncertainty was central to the appeal. AMP said industry participants had reported delays to more than $2.6 billion of investment in new vessels and shipyard expansion. It also cited over $700 million in planned Jones Act dredging-vessel investment that had been deferred. The group argued that owners and lenders require confidence in long-term domestic cargo demand before financing vessels and infrastructure intended to operate for decades.
The letter follows concerns from nine maritime labour organisations over reporting obligations, immigration rules and the national defence justification for foreign-vessel movements, gCaptain reported. Lawmakers have also questioned the prolonged waiver’s consistency with its underlying authority. AMP said targeted emergency exemptions would remain possible under 46 U.S.C. 501(b) where available US vessels cannot meet national defence needs. Under current Customs and Border Protection guidance, cargo moving under the existing waiver must be loaded before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on 15 November.