The President's Further Extension Of The Jones Act Waiver During Iran War Draws Support From Case
The Congressman says the waiver has assured delivery of domestic fuel supplies critical for Hawaii’s energy needs
News Release from Office of U.S. Representative Ed Case, Honolulu, HI, November 14, 2026
(Honolulu, HI) - U.S. Representative Ed Case (HI-01) today supported the President’s further extension of the Jones Act waiver during the ongoing Iran war to continue to facilitate the transfer of fuel and other commodities between domestic U.S. ports including Hawai‘i.
“As the war with Iran continues to disrupt international oil, shipping and related markets, placing especially the non-contiguous parts of our country such as Hawai‘i at particular risk, I support the President’s approval of a further extension of the waiver of the Jones Act for another 90 days,” said Case.
“The waiver is operating nationally to mitigate the effects of market disruption on energy availability and pricing nationally, “ said Case, who wrote the President urging the waiver extension.
“But the need for the waiver is especially acute in Hawai‘i and other noncontiguous jurisdictions which are largely reliant on external fossil fuel-based products for energy, agriculture, transportation, and other key needs, and where the Jones Act, even in a non-disrupted world, imposes unique severe constraints on the delivery of energy supplies and related pricing.
“Hawai‘i has already had to utilize the waiver to provide delivery of domestic fuel supplies from the continental U.S., proving its necessity to assure our islands’ energy supplies.”
Case said it was important to grant the extension now rather than wait for the second extension to expire “because contracts for the acquisition and shipping of fossil fuel products to U.S. ports are signed well in advance of shipping and delivery and failure to provide clarity on that timeframe will seriously disrupt shipping options and prices with wide ranging effects.”
The Jones Act, which became law on June 5, 1920, severely limits shipping options from the continental U.S. to U.S. Jones Act vessels only, despite the widespread availability of shipping in the international markets. For fossil fuel products specifically, of the thousands of tankers operating globally, only a small fraction are Jones Act-compliant and available for domestic transport, and virtually none are suited for certain bulk commodities such as fertilizer. As a result, even though the United States is a net energy exporter, Hawai‘i typically relies on foreign imports because Jones Act shipping is far more expensive and less dependable that international shipping.
The President first granted a 60-day waiver of the Jones Act in March and has extended the waiver three times since then, each time for 90 days.
###
Trump Extends Jones Act Waiver Again—Longest Waiver in History
R: … President Donald Trump extended for 90 days a waiver of a shipping law to allow foreign-flagged ships to transport oil and other commodities between US ports, a White House official said on Friday.
Reuters reported on Thursday that industry sources said the administration would extend the waiver on the more than 100-year-old Jones Act.
It has been the longest waiver in the history of the shipping law.
The administration issued a blanket waiver in March, a month after the US launched the war on Iran, in an effort to lower oil and fuel prices. In August, it extended the waiver but mandated that decisions would be made on a case-by-case basis, a stipulation continued through the latest waiver. …
read … US extends shipping law waiver 90 days, to allow freer movement of oil, commodities
HNN: “There have been nearly 350 shipments that have been made under the waiver,” said Jonathan Helton, senior policy analyst for the think tank Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. “Hawaii has already received at least four shipments, three of fuel and one shipment of propane. And the propane shipment is really significant because there is not a single tanker in the Jones Act fleet that is capable of carrying propane. So Hawaii typically imports all of it, mostly from Canada.”
KITV: U.S. Rep. Ed Case backs Trump’s extension of Jones Act waiver for shipping fuel from mainland to Hawaii | Politics | kitv.com