Shipping and Logistics

Trump signs executive order aimed at making US shipbuilding 'great again'

Written by Ethan Bernard

April 11, 2025

President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday meant to breathe new life into American shipbuilding and curb Chinese dominance in the sector.

“The commercial shipbuilding capacity and maritime workforce of the United States has been weakened by decades of government neglect,” the executive order states. This has led to “eroding United States national security.”

As for its aim, the order says: “It is the policy of the United States to revitalize and rebuild domestic maritime industries and workforce to promote national security and economic prosperity.”

A White House fact sheet accompanying the order states that government procurement processes and “over-regulation” have hindered “private industry’s ability to build vessels on time and on budget.”

Key provisions

An important element of the order includes directing the US Trade Representative (USTR) “to make recommendations regarding China’s anticompetitive actions within the shipbuilding industry.”

This would include going forward with a previously reported plan to enforce placing a fee on Chinese-flagged vessels in US ports, according to an article in MarineLink.

Additionally, “It also directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to enforce collection of the Harbor Maintenance Fee and other charges on foreign cargo entering the United States to prevent circumvention via Canada or Mexico.”

The Harbor Maintenance Fee is a fee by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on cargo transported via ocean freight through US ports.

The order also targets increasing “the fleet of commercial vessels trading internationally under US flag as well as domestically between our ports.”

In conjunction with the order, President Trump has established the Office of Maritime and Industrial Capacity at the National Security Council in the White House.

The full executive order as well as various timelines is available here.

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.

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