Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) spearheaded a recent letter to President Donald Trump, urging him to prioritize American shipbuilding ahead of the planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"The United States is at an inflection point and cannot cede additional ground to the People's Republic of China (PRC)," Sen. Kelly's letter argues. "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."
Thus, he urges Trump to "stand strong during these negotiations as we work together to enact trade remedies and advance the SHIPS for America Act to level the playing field and create a strong commercial and military shipbuilding ecosystem in the United States."
Sen. Kelly first introduced the SHIPS for America Act in December, which has gained strong bipartisan support, and seeks to incentivize and ramp up domestic production of new naval vessels.
China has approximately 5,500 internationally flagged vessels, while the United States has approximately 800.
The Arizona Senator says the Chinese accomplished this through "a comprehensive strategy to significantly diminish the shipbuilding industry in the United States and become the dominant shipbuilding force globally" in his letter, which was bolstered by "the PRC's anti-competitive practices to gain an advantage in shipbuilding through unfair and discriminatory tactics, such as government subsidies and favorable loans from PRC-operated banks."
However, Kelly noted that Trump's previous actions against China have yielded results, such as the imposition of fees on Chinese ships docking at American ports and on companies that use Chinese-built vessels.
"The sudden decrease in Chinese shipping orders shows that when your Administration acts on this issue, the global maritime industry pays attention," Kelly concluded. "As we strive to grow the American economy, compete with the PRC, and ensure the American military has the resources necessary to succeed, we encourage your Administration to execute the targeted actions that began to reshape existing global shipbuilding trends and revitalize our domestic maritime industry. We stand ready to work together to support this goal."
