Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Restores America’s Maritime Dominance

Fact Sheets

TLDR

This is a “fact” sheet for an executive order that aims to restore American maritime dominance through a Maritime Action Plan that expands the industrial base, counters China’s practices, enforces Harbor Maintenance Fees, establishes a Maritime Security Trust Fund, creates Maritime Prosperity Zones, expands mariner training, increases U.S.-flagged vessels, develops Arctic strategies, improves competition for government projects, and reviews the inactive reserve fleet. The fact sheet presents concerning statistics about U.S. maritime decline compared to China’s dominance, though these lack citation and context, and the proposed solutions rely heavily on protectionist measures rather than addressing fundamental competitiveness issues.

This is a “fact” sheet for an executive order that aims to restore American maritime dominance through a Maritime Action Plan (MAP). It includes provisions for expanding the Maritime Industrial Base, addressing China’s anticompetitive practices, enforcing Harbor Maintenance Fees, establishing a Maritime Security Trust Fund, creating Maritime Prosperity Zones, expanding mariner training, increasing U.S.-flagged vessels, developing Arctic waterway strategies, improving competition for government projects, and reviewing the inactive reserve fleet.

The document claims the U.S. maritime industry has been weakened by government neglect, citing statistics that 0.2% of world ships are built by the U.S. compared to 74% by China, 0% of containers compared to China’s 96%, and 0% of ship-to-shore cranes compared to China’s 80%. It also states Chinese state-owned software is being installed in U.S. port operations.

The executive order and fact sheet present several problematic claims and approaches:

  1. The statistics comparing U.S. and Chinese maritime production lack citation and context. While China does dominate global shipbuilding, the presented numbers appear selectively framed to maximize contrast without acknowledging the complex evolution of global maritime industries over decades.

  2. The claim that “government procurement processes and over-regulation” are solely responsible for shipbuilding challenges oversimplifies the industry’s decline, which stems from multiple factors including global labor cost differences, technological shifts, and market forces.

  3. The establishment of a “Maritime Security Trust Fund” lacks specific funding mechanisms, oversight provisions, or transparency requirements, raising questions about fiscal responsibility and potential for misallocation.

  4. The proposed “Maritime Prosperity Zones” modeled after Opportunity Zones raise concerns, as economic analyses of the original Opportunity Zones program showed mixed results with benefits often flowing to already-developing areas rather than truly distressed communities.

  5. The directive to enforce Harbor Maintenance Fees on cargo entering via Canada or Mexico may violate provisions of USMCA (the successor to NAFTA) and could trigger retaliatory trade measures from these key trading partners.

  6. The document frames maritime decline as primarily a national security issue while understating the complex economic and technological factors that have shaped the global distribution of maritime manufacturing.

  7. The executive order appears to rely heavily on protectionist measures rather than addressing fundamental competitiveness issues through workforce development, technological innovation, and sustainable investment strategies.

  8. The creation of a new Office of Maritime and Industrial Capacity at the National Security Council adds bureaucratic complexity without clear integration with existing maritime authorities like MARAD (Maritime Administration) and other Department of Transportation entities.

The referenced executive order represents a significant shift in maritime policy with potential implications for international trade relationships, federal spending priorities, and regulatory approaches. However, its effectiveness will depend on implementation details not provided in this announcement, particularly regarding funding sources, interagency coordination, and consistency with existing trade agreements and maritime law.

REVITALIZING U.S. MARITIME POWER: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a historic Executive Order to restore American maritime dominance.

  • The Order directs the creation of a Maritime Action Plan (MAP) to revitalize U.S. maritime industries.
    • The MAP will provide a strategy with specific actions to restore and create sustained resiliency for the American maritime industry.
  • Up until now, government procurement processes and over-regulation have hindered private industry’s ability to build vessels on time and on budget—this Order reverses that trend.
  • It instructs the Secretary of Defense to assess options, including the Defense Production Act Title III authorities, to invest in and expand the Maritime Industrial Base.
    • Such an action will help better utilize and leverage existing authorities to spur public and private investment in the Maritime Industrial Base.
  • The Order directs the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to make recommendations regarding China’s anticompetitive actions within the shipbuilding industry.
  • 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.
    • This will put an end to a longstanding unfair practice, ensuring all cargoes entering the United States are assessed the proper applicable fees and generating additional revenue for investment into the maritime industry.
  • The U.S. government will work with our allies and partners to align trade policies to disrupt China’s non-market practices in the international supply chain and logistics sectors.
  • The Order establishes a Maritime Security Trust Fund to provide consistent funding for maritime programs in addition to a shipbuilding financial incentives program to boost private investment in U.S. shipbuilding.
  • It develops Maritime Prosperity Zones to incentivize investment in waterfront communities and is to be modeled on President Trump’s highly successful Opportunity Zone concept.
  • It expands Mariner training and education through an investment in the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and a plan for expanding training opportunities.
  • To ensure national economic security, the U.S. government will increase the fleet of commercial vessels trading internationally under U.S. flag as well as domestically between our ports.
  • The MAP will develop a strategy to ensure security and leadership of arctic waterways to address the growing presence of foreign nations in the region and the need for the United States to reestablish itself in the area.
  • The Administration will review ways to improve competition within the private sector for government projects and reduce costs to ensure taxpayer funds are being utilized most efficiently.
  • The Order directs the Secretary of Defense to conduct a review and issue guidance on the funding, retention, support, and mobilization of a robust inactive reserve fleet, to ensure we have adequate assured access to sealift capacity whenever needed for military operations.

RESURRECTING THE AMERICAN MARITIME INDUSTRY: 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.

  • 0.2% of the world’s ships are built by the United States, compared to 74% built by China.
  • 0% of the containers used to move commodities around the world are built by the United States, compared to 96% built by China.
  • 0% of the ship-to-shore cranes in the United States are built domestically, compared to 80% built by China.
  • Chinese state-owned software is being installed in port operations across the United States, with limited to no alternatives.

MAKING SHIPBUILDING GREAT AGAIN: 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.