By Arathy Somasekhar and Jarrett Renshaw
HOUSTON/WASHINGTON Nov 12 (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump’s administration is set to extend a waiver in coming days allowing foreign-flagged ships to transport oil and other commodities between U.S. ports, three industry sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
The extension will require individual voyages to undergo case-by-case review rather than allowing foreign ships to receive blanket exemptions from the Jones Act, and could come as early as Thursday, one of the sources said. The waiver is one of the tools the administration has used to try to lower diesel and gasoline prices, which have been driven higher by the wars in Iran in Ukraine.
The administration last extended the waiver in August until November 15, and it has already been the longest waiver in history for the more than 100-year old law.
A White House official said no decision has yet been made on the extension of the Jones Act waiver, adding that any announcements will be made directly Trump or his administration.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Arathy Somasekhar; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
