This article serves to supplement Kean Miller’s prior Louisiana and Texas Law Blog publication, International Trade Update: Jones Act Waived for 60-Days, by Taylor B. Ashworth, Cristina Izhel Goulet, Stephen C. Hanemann, and Timothy W. Strickland, regarding the original announcement that the Jones Act would be waived for 60 days by the Department of War in response to national defense concerns.

The Jones Act waiver landscape continues to evolve.[1] Following the March 19, 2026 announcement that the Jones Act would be waived for 60 days, as discussed in International Trade Update: Jones Act Waived for 60-Days, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has approved an extension of the waiver at the request of the Department of War (“DOW”).[2]

On April 24, 2026, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) issued Updated Guidance #3, CSMS #68448732, announcing the ninety-day extension of the original waiver as well as additional compliance requirements not previously imposed on members of the trade community seeking to operate under the waiver.[3]

Key Dates and Timing Requirements

Under the updated guidance, the extension will take effect on May 18, 2026, at 12:00 a.m., creating continuity between the original waiver period and the extended period – for a total potential waiver window of one hundred fifty (150) days. CBP has further advised that, to qualify under the extended waiver, any covered product must be laden aboard the relevant vessel no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on August 16, 2026.

Expansion of Covered Cargo

CBP has also continued to expand the list of potentially covered cargo, items, and products eligible under the waiver. Between the original March 19, 2026 pronouncement and the latest April 24, 2026 guidance, additional merchandise classifications have been added to the scope of potentially covered products.

Kean Miller is maintaining and tracking a consolidated master list of products potentially falling within the waiver’s scope for client advisement purposes, which are also accessible through CBP’s Cargo Systems Messaging Service bulletins.

New Compliance Requirements

The principal compliance change reflected in the latest extension concerns the timing and sequence for submission of Inward Cargo Declaration documentation to CBP. An Inward Cargo Declaration, commonly filed on CBP Form 1302, is a U.S. Customs document used to report cargo arriving aboard a vessel into a U.S. port as part of the vessel entry and arrival process administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Under the original waiver guidance, operators making the initial request were generally required to provide core shipment information only, including:

• Vessel name, IMO number, and flag
• Commodity description and HTS code
• Carrier identity
• Relevant ports and voyage dates, including CBP port codes

Submission of CBP Form 1302 was treated as a separate and comparatively less immediate filing requirement.

Under the latest guidance, however, CBP now requires a PDF copy of CBP Form 1302 to be submitted as part of the initial waiver notification package itself. This shift suggests heightened documentary scrutiny for parties seeking to operate under the extended waiver and compresses the timeline for assembling required records.

As a practical matter, carriers and operators may need to coordinate earlier with customs brokers, port agents, and internal documentation teams to avoid timing or filing deficiencies.

Broader Industry Implications

Beyond the immediate operational changes, the duration of the extension itself is noteworthy. What began as a temporary sixty (60) day measure has now evolved into a significantly longer waiver period, raising broader questions not only about present compliance obligations, but also about the longer-term commercial and policy implications of repeated or expanded Jones Act suspensions.

The current March-August 2026 waiver period (150 days in total) appears to be the longest modern Jones Act waiver to date, substantially exceeding prior disaster-related waivers that were typically measured in days or weeks.

As the waiver framework continues to expand, so too do the legal, commercial, and policy questions surrounding its use. Industry opposition remains pronounced, with critics warning that repeated extensions may inject uncertainty into domestic maritime markets, discourage investment in U.S. flag capacity, and weaken confidence in the consistent enforcement of longstanding cabotage protections.

Open Questions Moving Forward

Whether the present waiver remains a temporary emergency measure or signals a broader shift in Jones Act policy will likely remain the subject of continued debate across the trade and maritime sectors. The extended waiver raises several unresolved questions for the industry:

• What impacts has the original and extended waiver had on domestic trade and commodity pricing?
• How many foreign flag ships have sought to take advantage of the waiver, and what volume of goods is being increased in domestic delivery?
• Will the extended waiver offer some measure of fuel-price relief, or will the combustible fuel prices continue to be governed by crude oil cost and global market unpredictability?
• Has the waiver served to boost exports rather than increase U.S. port to U.S. port trade volumes?
• Does the waiver enhance or impede U.S. port security concerns?
• How will the waiver fare in the short term, and will the long term hold adverse impact on U.S. marine industry market share?

Taylor Ashworth, Cristina Goulet, Stephen Hanemann, and Tim Strickland are members of Kean Miller’s Offshore Energy & Marine group, representing a wide range of clients in complex maritime, energy, and international trade matters. Their work spans litigation, transactions, and regulatory issues involving offshore oil and gas exploration, drilling and decommissioning, marine operations, and related logistics and insurance challenges. They provide strategic, business-focused counsel to help clients navigate evolving regulatory frameworks and operational risks in a dynamic global market.

[1] See Kean Miller’s Louisiana and Texas Law Blogs, Internal Trade Update: Jones Act Waived for 60-Days, by Taylor B. Ashworth, Cristina Izhel Goulet, Stephen C. Hanemann, and Timothy W. Strickland, for insight regarding the original announcement that the Jones Act would be waived for 60 days by the Department of War in response to national defense concerns.

[2] https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCBP/bulletins/41471dc.

[3] https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCBP/bulletins/41471dc.