The Trump administration is preparing an executive order designed to reinvigorate US shipbuilding and reduce China’s stronghold over the global maritime industry, according to a report.
The draft order which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal outlines 18 measures aimed at strengthening the domestic sector, including imposing fees on Chinese-built ships and cranes entering US ports and establishing a new office within the National Security Council to oversee maritime policy.
President Trump signaled his administration’s commitment to restoring the country’s shipbuilding capabilities in a speech to Congress on Tuesday night, announcing plans to create a new Office of Shipbuilding in the White House.
“We’re going to make them very fast, very soon,” Trump declared, acknowledging the US’s lagging shipbuilding sector.
The executive order, which remains in draft form and is subject to change, would incorporate several longstanding bipartisan proposals aimed at bolstering the maritime industry.
These include pending congressional legislation that seeks to rebuild the domestic shipbuilding sector and policies proposed by the US Trade Representative’s office to impose fees on Chinese-flagged or Chinese-built vessels docking at American ports.
While similar proposals have faced political roadblocks in the past, Trump’s executive action could bypass the lengthy legislative process.
“He could fast-track them with a stroke of his pen if implemented as an executive order,” a shipping-industry official familiar with the discussions told the Journal.
One key driving force behind the executive order is Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz.
Before joining the administration, Waltz co-sponsored bipartisan legislation in Congress aimed at expanding the US-flagged fleet and providing financial support and tax incentives to domestic shipbuilders.
National security concerns have heightened bipartisan interest in strengthening US maritime capabilities, particularly as fears grow that America’s shipbuilding sector and commercial fleet have fallen dangerously behind China.
The draft order includes provisions to establish Maritime Opportunity Zones and a Maritime Security Trust Fund, both aimed at driving investment into the sector.
The revenue generated from fees imposed on Chinese-built ships and cranes would be allocated to fund domestic maritime initiatives, according to the draft document.
The proposal has sparked opposition from international shipping companies, particularly those based in Europe and non-Chinese parts of Asia, who argue that such fees could disrupt global trade. When similar tariffs were floated by the US Trade Representative’s office last month, ocean shipping companies voiced concerns about their impact on supply chains and port accessibility.
China remains the dominant force in global shipbuilding, producing nearly 29% of the world’s active containerships by container capacity, according to data from Linerlytica.
Chinese shipyards also account for roughly 70% of new containership capacity on order, reinforcing their strategic advantage in the maritime sector.
Soren Toft, chief executive of Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping –the world’s largest container line — warned that the proposed fees could lead carriers to scale back operations at smaller US ports due to higher costs.
“If the Trump administration implements the fees, carriers will be forced to pull services from some smaller US ports as it wouldn’t be worth the cost of unloading small volumes of containers,” Toft said Monday at S&P Global’s annual TPM25 shipping conference in Long Beach, Calif.
Toft further cautioned that the fees could increase shipping costs on certain Asia-U.S. routes by as much as $800 per 40-foot container.
He emphasized that these expenses would ultimately be passed on to importers and consumers, raising concerns about inflationary effects on goods transported via ocean freight.
As the administration finalizes the executive order, stakeholders across the maritime and trade industries are closely monitoring its potential impact on global shipping dynamics and US economic interests.
“President Trump has long discussed rebuilding America’s shipbuilding capabilities. The White House, however, does not have any formal announcements to make at this time,” said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly.
A Chinese government spokesperson told The Post that the US shipbuilding industry “lost its competitive advantage many years ago due to overprotection.”
“The development of relevant industries in China is the result of technological innovation and active market competition of enterprises, benefiting from its complete industrial manufacturing system and huge domestic market,” the Chinese government rep said.
The spokesperson accused the US of “blam[ing] China for its own problems, which lacks factual basis and goes against economic common sense.”
“If the US insists on imposing port fees, it will push up global shipping costs, disrupt the stability of the global production and supply chain, increase inflationary pressure in the United States, weaken the global competitiveness of US goods, damage the interests of US consumers and enterprises, and cause multiple ‘backlash’ to the US economy and employment,” the government spokesperson said.
“China urges the US to respect facts and multilateral rules and not make the same mistake again and again.”
