Republicans Coax Trump to Scrap U.S. Ship Waiver Plan

Lawmakers from shipbuilding Gulf Coast states meet with Trump
White House weighing waivers to facilitate natural gas flows

A welder works on a section of a double hulled tanker being assembled at a shipyard in Philadelphia.
Photographer: Mike Mergen/Bloomberg

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By Jennifer A Dlouhy and Ari Natter

May 1, 2019 at 7:32 PM UTC

Corrected

May 3, 2019 at 3:37 AM UTC

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President Donald Trump pledged he wouldn’t waive requirements that American vessels be used to transport natural gas among U.S. ports, Republicans defending the mandates said after a White House meeting on the issue Wednesday.

The lawmakers from Alaska and the shipbuilding Gulf Coast states of Mississippi and Louisiana said Trump ruled out relaxing mandates under the Jones Act in order to facilitate shipments of liquefied natural gas to Massachusetts and Puerto Rico.