Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) is sounding the alarm about the significant decline of the United States’ maritime sector and the concurrent rise of China’s dominance at sea, arguing that the situation poses a critical threat to American economic and national security.
In an op-ed last week, the Senator called for urgent legislative action to revitalize U.S. shipbuilding and reclaim America’s position as a leading maritime power.
Young wrote in the New York Post and highlighted the stark contrast between the two nations’ fleets. He noted that China boasts the world’s largest commercial fleet with 5,500 vessels and is adding approximately a thousand more annually. In sharp contrast, the U.S. commercial fleet numbers only around 80 ships, with a mere handful added each year.
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This disparity, according to Young, has left the U.S. supply chain vulnerable to the dictates of the Chinese Communist Party. He warned that in a trade or military standoff, China could cripple the American economy by simply prohibiting its ships from calling at U.S. ports.
Furthermore, he argued that a lack of a robust commercial shipyard industrial base hinders the U.S. ability to build and repair warships at scale in a time of conflict, particularly in the Pacific.
Senator Young evoked the words of President Theodore Roosevelt, who in 1905 stated, “To the spread of our trade in peace and the defense of our flag in war, a great and prosperous merchant marine is indispensable.” Young contended that Roosevelt would be “furious” at the current state of the U.S. merchant fleet.
However, Young sees a renewed focus on this critical issue within the U.S. government. He pointed to President Donald Trump’s recent executive order to encourage private investment in new shipyards and impose added fees on Chinese vessels at U.S. ports as a signal of intent to reverse the decline.
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Building on this momentum, Young announced that he has joined a bipartisan group of colleagues to reintroduce the SHIPS for America Act. This comprehensive legislation, he stated, shares many goals with President Trump’s executive order and aims to provide the necessary congressional authorization and funding to build and crew a new fleet of commercial ships.
Key provisions of the SHIPS for America Act include establishing national oversight and consistent funding for U.S. maritime policy, cutting red tape to make U.S.-flagged vessels more commercially competitive internationally, rebuilding the shipyard industrial base, and expanding and strengthening mariner and shipyard worker recruitment.
The act also proposes establishing a trust fund to support the expansion of the U.S.-flagged international fleet to 250 ships by 2035 and creating an investment tax credit for the U.S. shipyard industry. Additionally, a new U.S. Center for Maritime Innovation would be established to foster research and design of next-generation ships.
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Senator Young acknowledged that revitalizing American shipbuilding will require time and investment, but he stressed that “the cost of failing to act is even greater.” He urged Congress to act decisively to make President Trump’s vision a reality and “christen a new commercial fleet that will reclaim American maritime supremacy.”
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