MaritimeFedWatch

Although there have been numerous recent studies on the potential economic impact of U.S. crude oil exports, it was not until recently that the U.S. Government issued its own study directly on those effects. On September 1, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued “Effects of Removing Restrictions on U.S. Crude Oil Exports,” which concluded (with a number of caveats and assumptions) that removal of remaining U.S. crude oil export restrictions would either leave U.S. gasoline prices unchanged or slightly reduced.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit turned away a challenge to the Jones Act on July 30, 2015. The case, brought in Hawaii by certain shipper interests, argued that the Jones Act impaired interstate trade and therefore violated the United States Constitution.

In connection with the financing crisis in Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico commissioned a report on changes that can be made to reverse the situation. The report – “Puerto Rico – A Way Forward” – was released on June 29, 2015.