Trump Administration Issues 60-Day Jones Act Waiver Amid the Iran War( continued from page 7)
There are two types of waivers— one that comes from the Secretary of Defense( now called the Secretary of War)(§ 501( a)) and one that comes from the head of a civilian agency(§ 501( b))— each of which have their own separate process and requirements. Jones Act waivers are rare, and in the past have typically been issued under § 501( b) in response to natural disasters, such as Hurricanes Maria and Harvey in 2017.
This waiver, however, was issued under 46 U. S. C. § 501( a). Under § 501( a), on request of the Secretary of Defense, the head of an agency responsible for the administration of the navigation or vessel-inspection laws shall waive compliance with those laws to the extent the Secretary considers necessary in the interest of national defense to address an immediate adverse effect on military operations.
Within 24 hours of making the request, the Secretary of Defense is required to submit to certain committees in Congress a written explanation of the circumstances requiring such a waiver in the interest of national defense, including a confirmation that there are insufficient qualified vessels to meet the needs of national defense without such a waiver. At this time, the official justification for the waiver, including the confirmation that there are insufficient Jones Act-qualified vessels to meet the national defense needs, has not been made public.
CBP Guidance— Implementation of the Jones Act Waiver Per the CBP bulletin, any member of the trade community who intends to transport the covered cargo on a foreign-flag vessel during the waiver period, must notify CBP at jonesact @ cbp. dhs. gov with the following information:
• Vessel name( including IMO number and flag);
• Commodity and relevant Harmonized Tariff Schedule(“ HTS”) Code;
• Carrier; and
• Ports and dates of departure and arrival( include CBP port code).
Any foreign-flag vessel transporting cargo under the waiver remains subject to vessel and clearance requirements under 19 U. S. C. § 1434( a)( 2) and 19 C. F. R. Part 4 and should use the Vessel Entrance and Clearance System(“ VECS”) in the Automated Commercial Environment(“ ACE”) to file a formal entry of the vessel.
Carriers engaging in transportation under the waiver must also provide a paper CBP Form 1302( Inward Cargo Declaration) for all U. S. domestic cargo laden from and intended for a U. S. port of entry. For the paper CBP Form 1302s being used for this waiver only, parties should list the“ Last Foreign Port Before U. S.” as the previous immediate U. S. port of departure and the“ Foreign Port Where Cargo is Laden on Board” as the U. S. port of lading for the domestic cargo. In addition, the following statement should be included on the form:“ Shipment described is a domestic shipment moving under the requirement of the Jones Act waiver issued March 17, 2026.”
Carriers may submit the Form 1302 by( i) uploading it into the Document Imaging System(“ DIS”) in VECS,( ii) sending it via e-mail to both the port of loading and the port of discharge, or( iii) providing a physical copy to the local CBP port of loading and port of discharge.
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