President Donald Trump signed an executive order on April 10 aimed at boosting the U.S. shipbuilding industry. (Getty Images)
Clark also said the executive orders appear to complement the SHIPS for America Act, a series of legislative measures introduced in December 2024 in both the House and Senate aimed at fostering growth within the U.S. shipbuilding industry and strengthening the U.S. Merchant Marine fleet that is capable of transporting military materials during times of conflict.
Specifically, the SHIPS Act includes provisions establishing a Strategic Commercial Fleet Program, which would seek to develop merchant vessels that could operate internationally, but are American-built, owned and operated. The legislation would also seek to beef up the U.S.-flag international fleet by roughly 250 ships in 10 years.
"If we implement the EO and the SHIPS Act together, the government would create incentives to flag and build ships in the U.S. and provide capital to the shipbuilding industry so it could meet the increased demand with greater efficiency and lower costs," Clark said. "This will not result in the U.S. surpassing China, Korea or Japan as shipbuilders, but it would provide the U.S. more resilience."
The U.S. is drastically behind near-peer competitors like China in shipbuilding. China is responsible for more than 50% of global shipbuilding, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, compared to just 0.1% from the U.S.
However, Trump has indicated interest in working with other nations on shipbuilding, and suggested working with Congress to pass legislation authorizing the purchase of ships from foreign countries when signing the orders. Specifics were not provided.
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Drone shot of a massive container ship arriving in the Port of Long Beach, California. (istock)
"Anyone who is serious about reviving the shipping industry should basically start by getting rid of the Jones Act," Veronique de Rugy, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, told Fox News Digital Thursday. "It's not everything, but it's a start."
Colin Grabow, an associate director at the Cato Institute’s Center for Trade Policy Studies, said shipbuilding issues in the U.S. are multifaceted, but the Jones Act is a major part of the problem. Still, he doubts efforts to repeal it will prove successful.
"I think the bar has been set so low, it is hard not to think that, absent the Jones Act, that we’d be doing any worse," Grabow said. "And in fact, I think we’d do better. And why do I think we’d do better? It's because… fundamentally, I think an industry that doesn't have to compete will become uncompetitive. I think it's just kind of axiomatic."
Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-wants-revive-lagging-shipbuilding-industry-here-hurdles-he-faces