In a letter sent Monday, Senators Mark Kelly, Tammy Baldwin, Todd Young, and Tim Scott called on Trump to maintain pressure on China’s maritime sector through trade remedies and support for the SHIPS for America Act.
“The United States is at an inflection point and cannot cede additional ground to the People’s Republic of China (PRC),” the senators wrote. “The PRC’s decades-long effort to decimate American shipbuilding as part of their effort to position themselves as the dominant global shipbuilding power affords them no grace or opportunity for compromise.”
The lawmakers said China’s rise to dominance in commercial shipbuilding was fueled by “anti-competitive practices” including state subsidies, favorable financing from Chinese state-run banks, and artificially cheap steel linked to excess production capacity.
According to the letter, China secured more than 60% of global commercial shipbuilding orders in 2025, compared to 16% for South Korea and 9% for Japan. The senators noted that the United States now trails not only China, South Korea, and Japan, but also countries including Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan Area, China, Italy, and Germany in ship production.
The senators praised recent Trump administration actions targeting Chinese-built vessels and operators, including proposed port fees and additional charges tied to Chinese-built ships calling at U.S. ports.
“The sudden decrease in Chinese shipping orders shows that when your Administration acts on this issue, the global maritime industry pays attention,” the senators wrote, pointing to a roughly 25% drop in Chinese shipyard orders between March and May 2025 following the U.S. Trade Representative’s Section 301 determination targeting China’s maritime practices.
The letter argues that revenues generated from those fees could help finance a broader revival of the U.S. maritime industrial base under the administration’s Maritime Action Plan.
Kelly and Young were among the lead sponsors of the bipartisan SHIPS for America Act introduced last year alongside Representatives John Garamendi and Trent Kelly. The legislation seeks to rebuild U.S. commercial shipbuilding capacity, expand the U.S.-flag fleet, and strengthen the domestic maritime workforce.
The senators said revitalizing U.S. shipbuilding would support both military readiness and middle-class industrial jobs.
“These U.S. shipyards and their suppliers are major employers that provide a pathway to the middle class through good-paying and often union jobs and keep the knowledge and skill to build vessels used for military purposes and to carry goods around the world made in America,” the senators wrote.
The letter comes as the Trump administration continues advancing its broader maritime industrial policy agenda, including trade measures targeting Chinese shipbuilders and efforts tied to the administration’s “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance” initiative.
