China’s grip on global shipbuilding sparks Trump maritime action plan aimed at reviving US industry
What's the administration thinking here?
The Trump administration unveiled a sweeping maritime action plan Friday, aimed at reclaiming U.S. maritime dominance and reducing America’s reliance on foreign-built and foreign-flagged ships that carry the vast majority of its international trade.
Senior administration officials warned in a call with reporters that nearly 99% of U.S. international maritime trade "moves on foreign-built, foreign-owned and foreign-flagged" vessels, a dependence they described as a national and economic security vulnerability as global competition intensifies.
"Roughly 50% of our trade moves through the maritime domain, and 99% of that moves on foreign-built, foreign-owned and foreign-flagged ships," one senior administration official said during a call with reporters. "That’s the market we’re trying to tap."
The initiative, ordered by President Donald Trump in an April executive order, lays out what officials describe as the first comprehensive federal effort in decades to rebuild the nation’s commercial shipbuilding industry, expand the U.S.-flagged fleet and strengthen maritime supply chains.
TRUMP’S $12B RARE EARTH PLAN TARGETS CHINA AS EXPERTS WARN US IS ‘ONE CRISIS AWAY’
The push comes as China now produces more than half of the world’s commercial ship tonnage, while U.S. shipyards account for only a sliver of global output — a disparity that has widened over decades as American commercial shipbuilding declined.
Administration officials also linked that erosion to rising Navy shipbuilding costs.
Officials argued that rebuilding commercial shipbuilding capacity would have ripple effects beyond global trade, strengthening the broader industrial base that underpins U.S. naval power.
Throughout the past several decades, as American commercial shipyards shuttered or downsized, the domestic supplier network, skilled workforce and naval design expertise that support both commercial and military vessels also contracted, officials said. That contraction, they argued, has left Navy shipbuilders more dependent on smaller supplier pools and single-source components, contributing to rising costs and production delays.
"The cost of building U.S. Navy warships has gone up, far outpacing inflation," one senior administration official said, attributing part of the increase to the loss of adjacent commercial shipbuilding activity. By expanding commercial orders and modernizing shipyard infrastructure, officials said, the government hopes to create economies of scale that would benefit both commercial operators and the Navy.
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What's the administration thinking here?
The Trump administration unveiled a sweeping maritime action plan Friday, aimed at reclaiming U.S. maritime dominance and reducing America’s reliance on foreign-built and foreign-flagged ships that carry the vast majority of its international trade.
Senior administration officials warned in a call with reporters that nearly 99% of U.S. international maritime trade "moves on foreign-built, foreign-owned and foreign-flagged" vessels, a dependence they described as a national and economic security vulnerability as global competition intensifies.
"Roughly 50% of our trade moves through the maritime domain, and 99% of that moves on foreign-built, foreign-owned and foreign-flagged ships," one senior administration official said during a call with reporters. "That’s the market we’re trying to tap."
The initiative, ordered by President Donald Trump in an April executive order, lays out what officials describe as the first comprehensive federal effort in decades to rebuild the nation’s commercial shipbuilding industry, expand the U.S.-flagged fleet and strengthen maritime supply chains.
TRUMP’S $12B RARE EARTH PLAN TARGETS CHINA AS EXPERTS WARN US IS ‘ONE CRISIS AWAY’
The push comes as China now produces more than half of the world’s commercial ship tonnage, while U.S. shipyards account for only a sliver of global output — a disparity that has widened over decades as American commercial shipbuilding declined.
Administration officials also linked that erosion to rising Navy shipbuilding costs.
Officials argued that rebuilding commercial shipbuilding capacity would have ripple effects beyond global trade, strengthening the broader industrial base that underpins U.S. naval power.
Throughout the past several decades, as American commercial shipyards shuttered or downsized, the domestic supplier network, skilled workforce and naval design expertise that support both commercial and military vessels also contracted, officials said. That contraction, they argued, has left Navy shipbuilders more dependent on smaller supplier pools and single-source components, contributing to rising costs and production delays.
"The cost of building U.S. Navy warships has gone up, far outpacing inflation," one senior administration official said, attributing part of the increase to the loss of adjacent commercial shipbuilding activity. By expanding commercial orders and modernizing shipyard infrastructure, officials said, the government hopes to create economies of scale that would benefit both commercial operators and the Navy.
GULF SHIPPING OPERATIONS GRIND TO HALT NEAR IRAN, US …
China’s grip on global shipbuilding sparks Trump maritime action plan aimed at reviving US industry
What's the administration thinking here?
The Trump administration unveiled a sweeping maritime action plan Friday, aimed at reclaiming U.S. maritime dominance and reducing America’s reliance on foreign-built and foreign-flagged ships that carry the vast majority of its international trade.
Senior administration officials warned in a call with reporters that nearly 99% of U.S. international maritime trade "moves on foreign-built, foreign-owned and foreign-flagged" vessels, a dependence they described as a national and economic security vulnerability as global competition intensifies.
"Roughly 50% of our trade moves through the maritime domain, and 99% of that moves on foreign-built, foreign-owned and foreign-flagged ships," one senior administration official said during a call with reporters. "That’s the market we’re trying to tap."
The initiative, ordered by President Donald Trump in an April executive order, lays out what officials describe as the first comprehensive federal effort in decades to rebuild the nation’s commercial shipbuilding industry, expand the U.S.-flagged fleet and strengthen maritime supply chains.
TRUMP’S $12B RARE EARTH PLAN TARGETS CHINA AS EXPERTS WARN US IS ‘ONE CRISIS AWAY’
The push comes as China now produces more than half of the world’s commercial ship tonnage, while U.S. shipyards account for only a sliver of global output — a disparity that has widened over decades as American commercial shipbuilding declined.
Administration officials also linked that erosion to rising Navy shipbuilding costs.
Officials argued that rebuilding commercial shipbuilding capacity would have ripple effects beyond global trade, strengthening the broader industrial base that underpins U.S. naval power.
Throughout the past several decades, as American commercial shipyards shuttered or downsized, the domestic supplier network, skilled workforce and naval design expertise that support both commercial and military vessels also contracted, officials said. That contraction, they argued, has left Navy shipbuilders more dependent on smaller supplier pools and single-source components, contributing to rising costs and production delays.
"The cost of building U.S. Navy warships has gone up, far outpacing inflation," one senior administration official said, attributing part of the increase to the loss of adjacent commercial shipbuilding activity. By expanding commercial orders and modernizing shipyard infrastructure, officials said, the government hopes to create economies of scale that would benefit both commercial operators and the Navy.
GULF SHIPPING OPERATIONS GRIND TO HALT NEAR IRAN, US …
