The Trump administration has extended its temporary Jones Act waiver for another 90 days, allowing foreign-flagged vessels to continue transporting oil and certain other commodities between US ports amid ongoing energy market disruptions, while introducing a stricter case-by-case review process for individual voyages. At the same time, the US Internal Revenue Service has ruled that foreign shipping companies operating under the waiver cannot claim the tax exemptions normally available to international shipping income, requiring them to report and potentially pay US taxes on revenue earned from domestic US voyages. The ruling is expected to increase the cost of operating under the waiver and could reduce its attractiveness to foreign shipowners, while supporters of the Jones Act view both the tighter review process and tax clarification as steps toward better protecting the US maritime industry.
