US Seeks Shipbuilding Revival, Muting of China Dominance
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Navigating Washington: Insights for Business

Global Economy Briefs

Timely insights from the Economy, Strategy & Finance Center

US Seeks Shipbuilding Revival, Muting of China Dominance

April 14, 2025

Maritime dominance is the focus of a new executive order from the White House which, along with other recent policies, seeks to revive the US shipbuilding industry, and limit China’s control of this sector.

China’s leading global role: In just the past 25 years, China’s shipyards went from building less than 5% of the world’s commercial ships to more than 50%. The US builds less than 1% of the world’s ships. Besides ships being built and used for freight, China’s navy has grown rapidly, and its fleet is now larger than that of the US.

What policies and actions are in the executive order:

  • Creating “Maritime opportunity zones” to incentivize—largely through tax breaks—private investment in maritime-related industries and communities;
  • Directing agencies to study the US presence in the Arctic and develop a strategy to secure Arctic waterways;
  • Expanding the Harbor Maintenance Fee program to include cargo that comes to US via ships offloading in Mexico and Canada; and
  • Empowering the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to review past US Navy shipb
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Author

Erin McLaughlin

Erin McLaughlin

Senior Economist, ESF Center

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