AMP Applauds Trump’s Plan To Support Shipbuilding
America’s Maritime Partnership (AMP) applauded President Donald Trump’s plan to create a White House Office of Shipbuilding as part of its plan to provide greater support for U.S. shipyards. During his address to Congress on the night of March 4, Trump said, “We are going to resurrect the American shipbuilding industry, including commercial shipbuilding and military shipbuilding. We used to make so many ships. We don’t make them anymore very much, but we’re going to make them very fast, very soon. It will have a huge impact to further enhance our national security.
In a March 4 statement Jennifer Carpenter, president of American Maritime Partnership, said, “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. The America first Jones Act remains a cornerstone of U.S. maritime policy, fostering innovation, 650,000 American jobs and a strong domestic fleet.”
Matthew Paxton, president of the Shipbuilding Council of America, also posted a statement of support on X, saying, “Strengthening the industry-government collaboration is the key to reaching any demand signal to ensure that America remains a global leader in maritime power for decades to come.”
The Wall Street Journal reported March 5 on details of an executive order draft memo it was shown that it said could change. It included proposals that have circulated for years among members of Congress concerned about bolstering America’s shipbuilding capabilities in the face of rapid Chinese expansion. Some of these could become part of an executive order.
Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, is a former Special Forces officer and congressman who was involved with the development of the SHIPS for America Act in Congress. That legislation was introduced on December 19, 2024, by Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Rep. Trent Kelly (R-Miss.). The bill, which incorporates elements of five previously introduced bills to support shipbuilding, aims to revitalize the U.S. merchant marine to transport vital goods and military cargo during times of conflict while reinforcing American supply chains in peacetime.
The SHIPS for America Act would establish the position of maritime security adviser within the White House. This person would lead an interagency Maritime Security Board tasked with making whole-of-government strategic decisions for how to implement a national maritime strategy. The bill also establishes a Maritime Security Trust Fund that would reinvest duties and fees paid by the maritime industry into maritime security programs and infrastructure supporting maritime commerce.
The legislation would also:
• Establish a national goal of expanding the U.S.-flag international blue-water commercial fleet by 250 ships in 10 years by creating the Strategic Commercial Fleet Program, which would facilitate the development of a fleet of commercially operated, U.S.-flagged, American-crewed, domestically built merchant vessels that can “operate competitively in international commerce.”
• Establish a Rulemaking Committee on Commercial Maritime Regulations and Standards to cut through bureaucracy and red tape within the Coast Guard that limits the international competitiveness of U.S.-flagged vessels, requiring that government-funded cargo move aboard U.S.-flag vessels and requiring a portion of commercial goods imported from China to move aboard U.S.-flag vessels starting in 2029.
• Expand the U.S. shipyard industrial base, for both military and commercial oceangoing vessels, by establishing a 25 percent investment tax credit for shipyard investments, transforming the Title XI Federal Ship Financing Program into a revolving fund and establishing a Shipbuilding Financial Incentives program to support innovative approaches to domestic shipbuilding and ship repair.
• Accelerate U.S. leadership in next-generation ship design, manufacturing processes and ship energy systems by establishing the U.S. Center for Maritime Innovation, which would create regional hubs across the country.
• Make “historic investments in maritime workforce” by establishing a Maritime and Shipbuilding Recruiting Campaign, allowing mariners to retain their credentials through a newly established Merchant Marine Career Retention Program, investing in infrastructure needs for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and supporting state maritime academies and centers for excellence for domestic maritime workforce training and education.
• The bill would also make changes to streamline and modernize the Coast Guard’s merchant mariner credentialing system that its sponsors say are “long overdue.”
