The United States announced a series of measures Wednesday aimed at facilitating oil trade, a sign of the authorities’ eagerness to limit the sharp rise in pump prices caused by the war in the Middle East . Donald Trump notably paused a law preventing the transport of fuel by non-American ships, the White House announced. « President Trump’s decision to grant a 60-day waiver to the Jones Act (the name of this law) is just one more step to mitigate the near-term disruptions to the oil market, » wrote White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on X.
Since the first attacks in Iran launched by the United States and Israel , crude oil prices have jumped by nearly 50%. At the pump, a gallon of gasoline (3.78 liters) now costs $3.84, compared to $2.98 at the end of February, according to benchmark data from the American automobile association AAA.
Lifting of sanctions
Over a century old, the Jones Act requires shipping companies to use American-built and owned vessels when operating between two U.S. ports. Its suspension is intended, in particular, to facilitate deliveries between the production hubs of the Gulf of Mexico and the refineries on the East Coast. « This measure will allow vital resources such as oil, natural gas, fertilizers, and coal to flow freely into American ports for 60 days , » according to Karoline Leavitt.
Meanwhile, the US Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it was continuing to lift the economic sanctions the United States had imposed on Venezuela « to reopen and restore the country’s energy sector. » This « will benefit both the United States and Venezuela, while supporting the global energy market through increased oil supply , » the department emphasized.
Donald Trump initially asserted that the surge in oil prices was « a small price to pay for global peace and security . » However, when the markets failed to stabilize, he reversed course, authorizing the sale of Russian oil stored on ships until early April.
source : flash eco
