Is The Jones Act Waiver Really About Iran… Or Something Bigger? What Maritime Unions Fear

Seafaring labor groups are pushing back after President Donald Trump issued a 60-day waiver of the Jones Act, warning of risks to American maritime jobs and national security.

The waiver, announced on March 18 amid ongoing military operations and energy market disruptions connected to the US-Iran conflict, is intended to allow foreign-flagged vessels to transport oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and coal between U.S. ports. Administration officials claim the move will ease short-term supply pressures, as The Dallas Express previously reported.

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.

This action will allow vital resources like oil, natural… https://t.co/q6xu36exzy

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 18, 2026

Maritime Unions Push Back

Maritime labor leaders, however, say the early effects are already being felt in global shipping markets. Adam Smith, Gulf Coast vice president for the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association, told The Dallas Express via email that traders are moving quickly to capitalize on the policy shift.

“Since the recent announcement, we are already seeing reports indicating that traders are quickly chartering foreign-flagged tankers in the spot market, taking advantage of arbitrage opportunities created by the waiver,” Smith told The Dallas Express.

“This will create uncertainty in scheduling, employment, and long-term investment decisions tied to U.S.-flag operations, while benefiting foreign vessel operators seeking to exploit the market for short-term profit at the expense of American workers,” Smith added.

Smith noted that the waiver could destabilize domestic tanker rates, which are typically governed by long-term contracts under the Jones Act framework.

In a broader warning, Smith said repeated waivers could discourage investment in the U.S. maritime sector.

“If Jones Act waivers become normalized, the greatest risk is the damaging signal they send to the U.S. maritime industry,” Smith explained, adding, “…why invest in U.S.-flag vessels, shipyard capacity, or workforce development if the government can waive the requirement to use American ships whenever market pressures arise?”

A coalition of maritime unions, including MEBA and the Sailors Union of the Pacific, as well as others, echoed these concerns in a joint statement released on March 18, arguing the waiver “undermines our national security, weakens military readiness, and hands critical maritime work to foreign vessel operators.”

The groups emphasized that waivers have historically been reserved for narrowly defined emergencies when U.S.-flag capacity is unavailable, adding that the current action does not meet that threshold.

They also disputed claims that the move would lower fuel costs, stating that “the primary driver of gasoline prices remains the global cost of crude oil,” and that domestic shipping contributes less than one cent per gallon. The average price of a gallon of gas in Dallas County is $3.691, as of this writing, according to AAA Fuel Prices.

Other maritime organizations’ leadership reported limited immediate impact but expressed concern about long-term consequences.

Anthony Poplawski, president of the Marine Firemen’s Union, told The Dallas Express via email that his members have not yet seen direct effects in the Gulf region, as they are only working on “two MARAD-owned [United States Maritime Administration] Ready Reserve Force ships in reduced operating status in Beaumont.”

Still, Poplawski warned that recurring waivers could be part of a broader effort to erode the law.

“There is an aggressive faction that wishes to weaken or eliminate the Jones Act in its entirety, thereby replacing US-flag, US-crewed vessels in the domestic trades, with foreign tonnage,” he said.

Industry groups and unions have long argued that weakening the Jones Act could reduce U.S. control over domestic shipping and erode the maritime workforce, while proponents of waivers say they can provide flexibility during supply disruptions.

Other figures working off the shores of the Lone Star State had a different perspective. Speaking generally about the economic conditions of Texas shrimpers, rather than any presidential action or the Jones Act waiver specifically, one Texas seafarer welcomed any action to bring down gas prices.

“Fuel is not an optional line item. You cannot shrimp without it,” Craig Wallis, owner of W & W Dock in Palacios, Texas, told The Dallas Express.

“When pump prices spike overnight, we cannot simply raise the prices we are paid to compensate. Wholesale seafood markets don’t work that way. We absorb those costs directly, and right now, those costs are unsustainable. I welcome any decisive federal action that stabilizes fuel prices or supports Mom-and-Pop fishermen in maintaining access to our sustainable resources during this time,” Wallis continued.

The Jones Act is a U.S. law that requires goods shipped by water between American ports to be carried on ships built in the United States, owned by Americans, and crewed mostly by U.S. citizens. This effectively bars foreign-flagged ships from handling such domestic cargo routes, but federal officials can temporarily waive these requirements, and there is no statutory cap on how many waivers they can issue.