Iran mined the Strait of Hormuz and cut off 20% of the world's oil supply.
Trump just found the workaround they didn't see coming.
While Tehran celebrates its chokehold on global energy, Trump pulled a lever that hasn't been used since Hurricane Katrina – and the move is already forcing fuel to flow where Iran desperately wants it stopped.
Trump Waives Jones Act 60 Days as Gas Prices Surge Past $3.70
The Jones Act has been on the books since 1920. Woodrow Wilson signed it after World War I insisting it was to grow America's domestic shipping industry – goods moving between American ports travel on American ships, built in America, crewed by Americans.
Sounds good but in practice the law has effectively stood primarily to benefit the union bosses who control the waterfront of every port in America.
A law that should have been America First became Big Labor first.
It drives up costs enormously on shipments needlessly, especially where it makes little sense.
For example a ship from Columbia with coffee to drop off in Charleston and New York can’t simply drop off Charleston’s coffee on the way north. Instead Charleston’s coffee has to get loaded onto a Jones Act compliant ship in New York and shipped back south.
This is especially crippling for geographically-isolated US territories like Hawaii or Puerto Rico as they can’t get goods dropped off or loaded onto any foreign ship passing by enroute to the US.
Trump waived the Jones Act for 60 days on Wednesday.
The move will surely anger the Big Labor brass of the seven maritime unions who, according to industry outlet Workboat, urged him not to allow “any administrative waivers granted under the Jones Act in response to rising energy price concerns.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the suspension, saying it "will allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and coal to flow freely to U.S. ports for sixty days."
This is the domestic supply chain move Trump reached for when Iran slammed the door on the Strait of Hormuz.
America’s fleet of Jones Act-compliant vessels has declined over 50% since 2000
The problem the waiver solves is specific and real.
America has fewer than 100 Jones Act-compliant vessels.
That bottleneck means Gulf Coast refineries can't quickly move product to East Coast and West Coast markets when overseas supply evaporates. Bringing foreign tankers into domestic shipping lanes changes that math overnight.
The last time anyone touched the Jones Act for a national security emergency was Katrina in 2005, when Bush opened it for 18 days to move petroleum after New Orleans flooded. Every waiver in modern history before this one was a hurricane response – a weather event that disrupted regional shipping for days.
This one is different. Iran isn't a hurricane. And Trump didn't waive the Jones Act for a week or two. He waived it for 60 days.
How Iran Closing the Strait of Hormuz Triggered the Move
Operation Epic Fury – the coordinated U.S.-Israel strikes launched February 28 that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei – triggered the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps to mine the Strait of Hormuz and declare open season on any vessel attempting to pass.
The numbers are staggering. The strait carries roughly 21 million barrels of oil per day – one-fifth of global supply. Since the strikes, tanker traffic dropped from an average of 24 vessels per day to four on the first Sunday of the conflict. Three of those four were Iranian-flagged.
Brent crude has crossed $109 per barrel. Gas prices have surged 74 cents a gallon since the war began – the largest monthly increase since Katrina. The IEA called it the largest disruption to global energy supply since the 1970s energy crisis.
That's the context Leavitt put directly into her announcement: "President Trump's decision to issue a 60-day Jones Act waiver is just another step to mitigate the short-term disruptions to the oil market as the U.S. military continues meeting the objectives of Operation Epic Fury."
The message is deliberate. Iran expected this war to hurt Americans at the pump. Trump is telling Tehran that America has domestic supply levers they haven't started pulling.
NATO Allies Refused to Help Reopen Strait of Hormuz
Here's the part that should make your blood boil.
While Trump fights Iran and protects the strait that keeps Europe's lights on, America's NATO allies are sitting on their hands. Germany's Defense Minister said flat out: "This is not our war; we have not started it." France's Emmanuel Macron declared his country would "never take part" in operations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Japan and South Korea – nations that get roughly 70% of their oil through that waterway – won't send a single vessel.
Trump asked them to help secure a shipping lane that keeps their own economies alive. Their answer was no.
Senator Lindsey Graham said he'd never heard Trump "so angry in my life" after the allies rebuffed the request. Trump called their inaction "a foolish mistake" they would regret.
He's right. The European nations stonewalling him will face a reckoning when this is over.
The Jones Act waiver is Trump doing what American presidents do in a crisis: moving fast, using every available tool, and not waiting for Germany to find its conscience.
Remember that the next time a European leader lectures America about its obligations to the alliance. America is fighting this war, paying this price, and solving this problem without them. Europe should be embarrassed. Americans should be furious.
Sources:
- Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary Statement, X, March 18, 2026.
- "Trump Suspends Jones Act for 60 Days in Bid to Boost Oil Flow to US," Fox Business, March 18, 2026.
- "Trump Waives US Shipping Law As Gas Prices Rise Amid Iran War," The Daily Caller, March 18, 2026.
- "Trump Administration Temporarily Waives Jones Act to Ease Pressure on Gas Prices," UPI, March 18, 2026.
- "Hormuz Shuffle: Trump Lifts Sanctions on Venezuelan Oil, Suspends Jones Act," HotAir, March 18, 2026.
- "Trump Struggles to Build Coalition to Reopen Strait of Hormuz Amid Iran War," Axios, March 17, 2026.
