Industry applauds wide ranging Trump executive order on maritime

President Trump’s much anticipated executive order on maritime turns out to be far more comprehensive than some preliminary reports had suggested. And it’s getting applause from across the maritime industry. “The Shipbuilders Council of America supports President Trump’s action to restore and strengthen America’s shipbuilding and ship repair industry,” said Matthew Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America. “The establishment of a Maritime Action Plan that includes a Maritime Security Trust Fund, strategic commercial fleet program, along with new tax credits, grants, and strategic investments, will provide a powerful environment to rebuild our shipbuilding capacity and build the fleet of the future.” “The American Waterways Operators commends President Trump for issuing his executive order on Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance, and for recognizing the critical importance of a robust American maritime industrial base and maritime workforce to our nation’s security and prosperity,” said Jennifer Carpenter, president and CEO, The American Waterways Operators. “As the largest segment of U.S. maritime, the American tugboat, towboat and barge industry stands ready to work with the Trump Administration to further grow and strengthen domestic waterways commerce, address China’s maritime expansionism, and identify opportunities to remove unnecessary regulatory barriers to innovation.” In its statement of purpose, the executive order states:

“The commercial shipbuilding capacity and maritime workforce of the United States has been weakened by decades of Government neglect, leading to the decline of a once strong industrial base while simultaneously empowering our adversaries and eroding United States national security. Both our allies and our strategic competitors produce ships for a fraction of the cost needed in the United States. Recent data shows that the United States 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 (the Maritime Industrial Base), and expanding and strengthening the recruitment, training, and retention of the relevant workforce... After being weakened by decades of government neglect, President Trump is prioritizing the revitalization of the U.S. maritime industry to strengthen the nation’s economic and national security as part of the America First Agenda...President Trump cares deeply about revitalizing shipbuilding and strengthening America’s maritime power...During the joint address to Congress, President Trump vowed to “resurrect the American shipbuilding industry, including commercial shipbuilding and military shipbuilding.” President Trump: “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 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.