UNITED States President Donald Trump has today signed a “historic” Executive Order (EO) aimed at restoring American maritime dominance.
The President seeks to make it the policy of the US to “revitalise and rebuild domestic maritime industries and workforce to promote national security and economic prosperity”.
The EO directs the creation of a Maritime Action Plan (MAP) to revitalise US maritime industries.
The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, in coordination with a number of Secretaries, has been tasked to submit the MAP to the president within 210 days of the order’s release.
President Trump described the US’ commercial shipbuilding capacity and maritime workforce as having been “weakened” by decades of Government neglect, leading to the decline of its industrial base, “simultaneously empowering our adversaries and eroding United States national security”.
Speaking in the Oval Office, the President said the US would be spending “a lot of money on shipbuilding” to boost American capacity in the industry.
The President referenced data showing that the US constructs less than one percent of commercial ships globally, while the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is responsible for producing approximately half.
“Rectifying these issues requires a comprehensive approach that includes securing consistent, predictable, and durable Federal funding, making United States-flagged and built vessels commercially competitive in international commerce, rebuilding America’s maritime manufacturing capabilities, and expanding and strengthening the recruitment, training, and retention of the relevant workforce,” the EO read.
The order directs the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to make recommendations regarding China’s anticompetitive actions within the shipbuilding industry, and explains the US will work with allies and partners to align trade policies to disrupt China’s “non-market practices” in the international supply chain and logistics sectors.
Economically, the EO seeks to establish a Maritime Security Trust Fund to provide consistent funding for maritime programs in addition to a shipbuilding financial incentives program, intended to boost private investment in US shipbuilding.
During the joint address to Congress, President Trump vowed 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,” the President said.
To demonstrate the seriousness with which President Trump views this issue, he also established a new Office of Maritime and Industrial Capacity at the National Security Council in the White House.
The EO comes just days after the White House reportedly pulled out of negotiations with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to decarbonise vessels, threatening to retaliate against any fees incurred onto US vessels.
The IMO’s Maritime Environmental Protection Conference (MEPC) is taking place in London this week, aiming to reach a deal on reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from shipping.
The current debate at the conference is centered on whether to tax shipping emissions through a fuel standard or a universal levy, however the White House is reportedly opposed to any suggestions of an emissions tax, creating an additional layer of complexity for a proposed tax.
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