The senator says passing the SHIPS for America Act would solve an important economic and national security concern.
Summer is winding down and football season is beginning in Green Bay, Wis. But a federal legislative effort to boost commercial shipbuilding would bring economic activity year-round to Wisconsin’s lakefront shipyards.
That’s what brought Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) to Green Bay shipbuilder Fincantieri ACE Marine on Tuesday. The senator was there to provide an update on – and rally support for – the SHIPS for America Act, which would funnel revenue from remedies created to combat unfair Chinese shipbuilding trade practices into investments in U.S. shipyards, workers, and other maritime infrastructure.
“Falling behind on shipbuilding is not just an economic problem of the United States,” said Baldwin. “China’s unfair trade practices also come with serious national security implications. If we cannot reliably produce ships to move products, we will not have the industrial base to make and maintain the military ships that we need to keep our country safe.”
Indeed, there’s a real need to get this done. While the United States has shipyards that build smaller boats, the commercial industry for oceangoing vessels like tankers and cargo ships has declined sharply in recent decades. The number of shipyards capable of producing and repairing them has dropped from 27 to eight; over 70,000 jobs have been lost; and more than 20,000 suppliers have exited the market. The results are a weakened domestic supply chain and increased reliance on foreign entities for maritime infrastructure and repair – and a growing national security issue, as Baldwin pointed out. Shipbuilding capacity and know-how, after all, is needed to maintain a navy.
In contrast, China’s state-owned and subsidized shipbuilding sector has rapidly expanded, reportedly with a capacity 232 times that of the U.S., aided by industrial espionage and discriminatory trade practices. China’s committed and government-wide attempt to corner this global industry stands in the way of getting our own back in the water.
Tackling this problem has been a bipartisan effort, Sen. Baldwin said at a press event at the shipyard, noting the SHIPS for America Act has support across the aisle and that the remedies it would tap were put in place by the Trump administration, which built them on top of the results of a Section 301 trade investigation completed by the Biden administration.
“I think folks may know that President Donald Trump and I don’t always see eye to eye but we’re mostly on the same page on this issue,” the senator said. “He’s saying the right things and now we need to make sure he follows through to revitalize this industry to support American workers and keep our country safe.”
But, she cautioned, the Trump administration must make sure its efforts to secure investments in shipbuilding – like the deal it has in the works with South Korea – result in domestic investment, and not more offshored work.
“Part of the deal is reported to include buying ships from South Korea, which is not the direction we want to go in,” Baldwin said. “Some colleagues and I, Democrats and Republicans, have (the SHIPS for America Act) that would give us a really strong start, and I’m hopeful the president will put his weight behind it.”
Also speaking at the event was a representative of the United Steelworkers, one of the five unions whose 2024 petition spurred the Chinese shipbuilding investigation, as well as Meghan Hasse, the Alliance for American Manufacturing’s regional advocacy coordinator for Wisconsin, who argued the legislation would be a long-term investment in the state’s manufacturing sector.
“Its passage will mean more American-made ships built with American-made materials. It will mean stronger supply chains and high-quality jobs along our lakeshores and coastlines,” said Hasse. “And I believe we will get it done because we have an ally in Senator Tammy Baldwin.”
You can watch all of Sen. Baldwin’s remarks on boosting the commercial shipbuilding industry here: