Flip-flop on Jones Act waiver flap?
The U.S. Energy Department has apparently reversed itself and will not offer a blanket exemption to the Jones Act for ships carrying oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).
The government set off a furor on June 23 when it announced on the front page of its “notice of sale” for 30 million barrels of oil from the SPR that the “secretary of the Department of Homeland Security has issued a general (blanket) waiver of the ‘Jones Act’ for the marine delivery of crude oil purchased in this sale.”
A promotion group for domestic shipping, the American Maritime Partnership (AMP), issued a statement within hours saying it was 'dumbfounded by President Obama's decision to disregard the American maritime industry, which has sufficient capacity to complete this work. At a time when a record number of Americans are unemployed, it is disappointing that the administration has chosen to prioritize foreign workers when our nation's workers are perfectly able and willing to do the job.'
Friday, an AMP spokesman said the government had reversed itself. The Energy Department could not immediately confirm the change.
However, the notice of the blanket exemption from the Jones Act on the front page of the original notice of sale by the SPR was removed in a revised notice of sale posted on Energy’s Web site. But the revised notice of sale still said companies may apply for a Jones Act waiver with DHS.
Flip-flop on Jones Act waiver flap?
