Trump boosts US shipbuilding, restores 'America's maritime dominance'

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order to boost US shipbuilding to promote national security and economic prosperity.

The order, titled "Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance," states that the US’ commercial shipbuilding and maritime workforce "has been weakened by decades of Government neglect, leading to the decline of a once strong industrial base while simultaneously empowering our adversaries and eroding United States national security."

"Recent data shows that the United States constructs less than one percent of commercial ships globally, while the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is responsible for producing approximately half," the order later added.

The order instructs the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA) to work in coordination with various department and agency secretaries and heads as well as the US Trade Representative to submit a Maritime Action Plan within 210 days of the order to Trump.

The Secretary of Defense is ordered to provide, within 180 days, in coordination with the Commerce, Transportation, and Homeland Security secretaries, an assessment identifying "key maritime components in the supply chain that are essential for rebuilding and expanding the Maritime Industrial Base and that should be prioritized for investment," among other things.

Trump said at the signing on Wednesday afternoon, "We’re way, way, way behind. We used to build a ship a day, and now we don’t do a ship a year practically. And we have the capacity to do it."

The order also directs the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to undertake a 3-month review of the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security vessel procurement processes and submit a plan to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Per Reuters, the order also directs the US Trade Representative to proceed with plans to charge million dollar docking fees to Chinese-built or Chinese-flagged vessels.

It also directs the US Trade Representative to consider tariffs on ship-to-shore cranes that were "manufactured, assembled, or made using components of PRC origin, or manufactured anywhere in the world by a company owned, controlled, or substantially influenced by a PRC national" and tariffs on other cargo-handling equipment.

The Department of Homeland Security is directed under the order to enforce the collection of harbor maintenance fees to stop cargo carriers from circumnavigating the fee in imported goods "through the practice of making port in Canada or Mexico and sending their cargo into the United States through land borders."