US Senators Urge Trump to Take Hard Line on China's Shipbuilding Practices

In a letter released Monday, Senators Tammy Baldwin, Mark Kelly, Todd Young and Tim Scott warned Trump against offering concessions to China on shipbuilding and maritime trade.

"The United States is at an inflection point and cannot cede additional ground to the People's Republic of China (PRC)," the senators wrote. "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."

The lawmakers said China's rise as the world's dominant shipbuilder was driven by "unfair and discriminatory tactics", including subsidies, state-backed financing and non-market practices that weakened US shipyards over the past two decades.

According to the letter, China accounted for more than 60 per cent of global commercial shipbuilding orders in 2025, while the United States lagged behind countries including South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Italy and Germany.

The senators said the decline of American shipbuilding was not only an economic issue but also a national security concern.

"These US shipyards and their suppliers are major employers that provide a pathway to the middle class through good-paying and often union jobs and keep the knowledge and skill to build vessels used for military purposes and to carry goods around the world made in America," the lawmakers wrote.

The senators praised actions already taken by the Trump administration, including announced fees on Chinese-built ships docking at U.S. ports and additional charges on companies using Chinese-built vessels.

They pointed to a reported 25 per cent drop in Chinese shipyard orders between March and May 2025 after the U.S. Trade Representative determined that China had used non-market practices in the sector.

"The sudden decrease in Chinese shipping orders shows that when your Administration acts on this issue, the global maritime industry pays attention," the senators wrote.

The lawmakers also urged Trump to support the bipartisan Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security, or SHIPS for America Act, aimed at revitalising the domestic maritime industry.

Senator Baldwin, who has pushed for expanding shipbuilding capacity in the Great Lakes region, said rebuilding the sector would strengthen American manufacturing and create jobs.

The letter comes as Washington and Beijing remain locked in broader strategic competition over trade, technology, military power and industrial policy. Shipbuilding has emerged as a growing concern for US defence planners, who argue that China's rapidly expanding naval and commercial fleet gives Beijing a long-term strategic advantage in the Indo-Pacific.

- IANS