President Donald Trump said French shipping giant CMA CGM SA will invest $20 billion in the United States to develop maritime infrastructure, logistics and terminals.
An estimated 10,000 new jobs would be created by the projects, Trump said at an event at the White House alongside CMA CGM chief executive Rodolphe Saadé. The investments would be made over four years, the container line said in a subsequent statement.
“It’s so important because it’s about shipping,” Trump said. “You know, we lost our way for many years. We haven’t done anything. We used to build a ship a day.”
The president added that he plans to announce a new government program for shipbuilding next week. In his address to a joint session of Congress on March 4, Trump said he would “create a new office of shipbuilding in the White House and offer special tax incentives to bring this industry home to America.”
Saadé’s trip to Washington came as the family-controlled CMA CGM seeks to lessen its vulnerability to Trump’s trade and maritime policies. The company founded by his father plays a major role transporting goods across the oceans and also has a long-term partnership with Chinese shipping companies. CMA CGM, China’s Cosco, Taiwan’s Evergreen and Hong Kong-based OOCL last year extended their capacity-sharing agreement called the Ocean Alliance to 2032.
“We are very enthusiastic about this big announcement of today,” said Saadé, standing at the event with Trump and a map of the southern U.S. showing the “Gulf of America.” The company was also examining investing in building container vessels and could make an additional announcement in the coming weeks, the CEO said.
Trump has hosted leaders from a number of companies – including Apple Inc., SoftBank Group Corp. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. – promising multi-billion-dollar investments in the U.S.
In its statement, CMA CGM said the money would be spent to increase its U.S.-flagged American President Lines fleet to 30 vessels from 10, and to develop U.S. port infrastructure including in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami and Dutch Harbor in Alaska. It also plans to develop warehousing, open a logistics center in Boston and establish an air cargo hub in Chicago.
Saadé has in recent years taken a significant portion of his quick-paced expansion spree to the U.S., acquiring major container terminals in the Port of Los Angeles as well as New York and New Jersey.
The billionaire was reported to have attended an event in Washington around Trump’s inauguration, joining another French tycoon, Bernard Arnault, who founded luxury giant LVMH, which could also be vulnerable to U.S. trade policies and tariffs.
Trump announced the CMA CGM initiative before signing an order that partially rolls back tariffs he imposed on Canada and Mexico earlier this week. While the White House has said they want to use the import taxes to force companies to return to the U….
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