OPINION:
President Trump plans to revive the U.S. maritime shipbuilding industry, including levying tariffs and fees on Chinese ships entering American ports. Now Congress must pass the SHIPS for America Act, which will increase our shipbuilding capacity and hopefully the size of our merchant marine. It could also provide economies of scale and expertise to rebuild our navy.
Since World War II, there has been a steady decline in U.S.-flagged merchant ships from about 50% of the world’s cargo shipping to about 1% today. Our merchant marine has fewer than 10,000 mariners compared to 50,000 in 1960. Our navy is hard-pressed to find commercial ships to support its operations.
China leads the world in commercial shipping and shipbuilding. It has 5,500 ships in maritime trade compared to America’s 80. China, an economic and military adversary, is a big user of the Panama Canal, and this is why President Trump wants to exert pressure on Panama to have Chinese companies relinquish ownership of Panama Canal port facilities.
Approximately 90% of the world’s goods is transported by ships. We must increase U.S.-flagged ships to compete with China and other countries — and for our national security.
DONALD MOSKOWITZ
Londonderry, New Hampshire
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