The US maritime industry fears a Trump administration proposal to modify decades of ship transportation rulings could weaken Jones Act enforcement, potentially altering a century of legal precedent governing the movement of crude oil, refined products and other commodities between US ports. “This interpretive guidance is a huge loophole that is being written into the Jones Act,” Aaron Smith, CEO of the Offshore Marine Service Association, told S&P Global Platts in an interview. “This is interpretive guidance that weakens US law.” Last month, the US Customs and Border Protection proposed changes to rulings it had made dating back to 1976 related to ship movements for US offshore oil and gas projects. These rulings had allowed movement of certain equipment, such as risers and pipeline connectors, between […]