The bipartisan bill aims to revitalize America’s floundering shipbuilding industry.
Once a maritime powerhouse with the strongest Naval fleet in the world, the United States has succumbed to the Chinese Communist Party’s manufacturing dominance on yet another front: shipbuilding.
For this reason, the United Steel Workers (USW) and five other unions have come together in support of legislation to curb China’s control over the global shipbuilding, logistics and maritime sectors. The Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act, introduced by Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.), alongside Reps. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) and Trent Kelly (R-Miss.) in April, aims to revitalize the U.S. maritime sector by creating oversight and consistent funding for U.S. maritime policy. It’s legislation that’s urgently needed.
In a June 25 letter urging Congress to cosponsor the SHIPS for America Act, the unions write:
“For years, our members have been ringing the alarms while the American shipbuilding sector eroded in the face of China’s use of unfair trade practices and five-year plans to dominate the global maritime sector. As U.S. shipyards have shuttered, tens of thousands of jobs have been lost, and highly trained dedicated workers have been pushed out of a supply chain that is critical to the future economic and national security of the nation. The SHIPS for America Act reflects a sorely needed dedication to rebuilding American shipbuilding and the trained workforce required to meet the challenges of the future.”
After decades of erosion, America’s shipbuilding industry has thoroughly lost the maritime supremacy it cultivated in the 1950s to its pinnacle in the 1970s. Now, the United States only has 80 U.S.-flagged vessels in international commerce while China has 5,500. But this advantage isn’t the result of China’s hard work and sweat equity. It has cemented its dominance through unfair practices and policies, the United States Trade Representative found in an investigation that was prompted by a petition from the same unions who are now calling for passage of the SHIPS for America Act.
The benefits of enacting this bipartisan bill will extend far beyond America’s eroded shipyards. As the unions highlight in their letter, the legislation would “create thousands of jobs while enhancing our nation’s economic and national security.” Indeed, right now, “more than eighty percent of U.S. military cargo transits on commercial vessels and these U.S. flagged ships are critical to meet our nation’s needs,” the unions state.
A robust and resilient domestic shipbuilding supply chain is essential to national security and economic prosperity. China’s dominance of maritime trade has gone too far. It’s time to bring back shipbuilding back to the United States and revitalize this sector.