"Trump agreed to waive the Jones Act, which will temporarily lift shipping restrictions on Puerto Rico and enable the hurricane-ravaged island to receive necessary aid," a statement said on Twitter.
The waiver from the shipping law, which requires American-made and operated vessels to transport cargo between US ports, will only last for 10 days and goes into effect immediately, the Hill magazine reported.
"At @ricardorossello request, @POTUS has authorized the Jones Act to be waived for Puerto Rico. It will go into effect immediately," White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders wrote on Twitter, referring to Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló.
Lawmakers in Congress since Monday had been pushing for a one-year waiver from the rules in an order to help speed up deliveries of food, fuel and other critical supplies to Puerto Rico, which was battered by two hurricanes last month.
Officials estimate that the island could be without power for six months.
The administration faced fierce backlash for not immediately lifting the law for Puerto Rico, after it issued a two-week waiver for Texas and Florida after hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
White House Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert said on Twitter early morning that the waiver was granted "immediately" after Rosselló had petitioned Trump for the exemption on Wednesday night.
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