Trump Orders New White House Shipbuilding Office Amid Rising China Maritime Dominance

President Donald Trump announced the creation of a new White House office of shipbuilding and tax incentives for domestic shipbuilders during his joint address to Congress.

“I am announcing tonight that we will create a new office of shipbuilding in the White House and offer special tax incentives to bring this industry home to America where it belongs,” Trump said in his address late on Tuesday.

The announcement comes as the Trump Administration is reportedly preparing an executive order aiming to revitalize America’s struggling maritime sector, which currently builds fewer than five ships annually compared to China’s 1,700.

A draft of the order, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, is set to include measures such as raising revenue from Chinese ships and tax credits and grants for shipyards.

The initiative follows recent Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) measures targeting China’s maritime dominance, prompted by a March 2024 petition from major U.S. labor unions. The USTR investigation, conducted by the former Biden Administration, found China’s practices “unreasonable and [burdensome to] U.S. commerce,” revealing that China’s dominance strategy relies on state subsidies, preferential sourcing policies, and unfair labor practices, which have severely impacted U.S. maritime capabilities and American jobs.

China’s market share in global shipbuilding has skyrocketed from less than 5% in 1999 to over 50% in 2023, while also controlling 95% of shipping container production and 86% of the world’s intermodal chassis supply. Meanwhile, the U.S. has fallen from its position as global leader in 1975, when it built over 70 ships annually, to its current 19th-place ranking.

In response to the findings, the USTR last month proposed imposing fees on vessels entering U.S. ports, including up to $1 million per entry for ships operated by Chinese carriers and $1.5 million per call for Chinese-built ships, regardless of the carrier’s nationality. The proposal also includes additional fees for carriers based on the percentage of their new ship orders being built in China.

The announcement also comes as the U.S. Navy also struggles with its own shipbuilding challenges. A recent GAO report highlights that despite billions in investments, the naval shipbuilding industrial base consistently fails to meet fleet expansion goals.

“We applaud the creation of the White House Office of Shipbuilding and the entire shipyard industrial base not only stands at the ready to work with the new Office of U.S. Shipbuilding but we are also ready to answer the call to design and build America’s commercial and military fleets,” said Matthew Paxton, President of the Shipbuilders Council of America. “By fully utilizing the existing domestic shipyard capacity, the shipyard industrial base can meet the growing demands of national defense, restore American competitiveness, and create thousands of skilled jobs in communities across the nation.”

The upcoming executive order could represent a strategic shift in U.S. maritime policy, aiming to address both commercial and military shipbuilding capabilities while countering China’s growing influence in global maritime commerce.

“We commend President Trump’s commitment to strengthening American maritime leadership with today’s executive order, which reinforces the importance of a robust shipbuilding sector and U.S.-flagged fleet to our national, economic and homeland security,” said Jennifer Carpenter, President of the American Maritime Partnership.

…