Strengthening US shipbuilding to counter China becomes a focus of lawmakers
Bipartisan bill will be introduced in US Congress in effort to revitalise a diminished industry amid growing Chinese dominance.
Two members of the US Congress said on Wednesday that they would introduce bipartisan legislation to revitalise the US shipbuilding industry amid rising concerns around America’s maritime capacity, national security and economic competitiveness with China.
Representative Mike Waltz, a Republican from Florida, and Senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, announced the upcoming Ships for America Act during an event at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.
The bill is one of several China-related priorities discussed by lawmakers on Wednesday, just before Congress goes into recess until after the November 5 elections. Other proposals included removing a “de minimis” threshold for imported Chinese goods and strengthening enforcement against Uygur forced labour.
Kelly and Waltz said the bill would be introduced after lawmakers return to Washington. For it to become law, Congress would need to pass it in both chambers this year, as all pending legislation expires in January and would need reintroduction by the new Congress.
Kelly said the decline in US maritime capabilities was one of the main motivations for the bill. He said that at the end of World War II, the US had “10,000 ocean-going merchant vessels in US trade flying a US flag, with US crew members”.
“Today, that number has fallen even further. It’s down to about 80 ships operating in international commerce flying the US flag.”
