Will this help amid the ongoing uncertainty brought on by President Donald Trump, who has almost single-handedly (and still trying) to destroy the global trade order?

🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔Trump recently signed an executive order focused on bolstering U.S. shipbuilding. That sounds great, right? While there will be benefits for the maritime and shipbuilding sectors in the United States, is it enough to beat out Chinese investments?

• Trump signed an order establishing his maritime agenda and vision for the U.S. sectors impacted by maritime. He calls it the Maritime Action Plan, which also establishes an “Office of Shipbuilding.” All of this is done in an attempt to address “national security” issues, where the U.S. currently only constructs less than one percent of commercial ships around the world, while China produces over half of the commercial ships. Some shipbuilding industry stakeholders are very thrilled.

• Matthew Paxton, the president of the Shipbuilders Council of America, praised the Trump executive order, saying, “A strong US shipyard industry is essential not only for our economic security but also for our homeland and national security.”

• Maritime Executive reports that Eastern Shipbuilding Group, a Florida-based shipbuilder with U.S. Coast Guard contracts, said “[we] thank President Trump and the White House for taking historic steps to revitalize American shipbuilding.”

• The order establishes dedicated funding to bolster and incentivize the industry to engage in shipbuilding drives not seen in decades. However, will this be enough?

• We don’t overlook the benefits of this executive order — it’s actually a good thing Trump has done amid the ongoing trade war enveloping the U.S. and China. In many ways, this is another flashpoint in the trade war. While the domestic U.S. shipbuilding industry will see much-needed investment, the specter of Chinese dominance in this space is hegemonic and palpable. Consider some facts, here.

• China builds about 1,700 new vessels per year, reports The American Prospect. United States only produces fewer than five commercial oceangoing vessels. By this fact, the shipbuilding industry in the U.S. is just a shell of its former self.

• That is a lot of ground to make up. Pair the fact that Trump has levied a so-called “reciprocal” tariff levy calculation totaling about 145 percent. China is not known to fold and is retaliating in the trade war in a manner that channels late Chinese president Mao Zedong. Mao Ning, a public diplomacy spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, posted a video clip of Mao Zedong, saying that China will achieve "complete victory” over the United States’ trade strategy.

• Mao Ning is also sharing on her official X.com (formerly Twitter) account memes and the video snippets of the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan, a figure Donald Trump emulates, expressing his dismay at protectionist policies and high tariffs.

• At issue, too, is Trump’s proposed fees on Chinese-linked vessels who seeking out portage at U.S. terminals. Due to backlash, Trump has announced that they will reconsider these fees, but this is a clear factor, a very clear element, here.

Bottom line: We really can’t give you better assessments. Trump’s Maritime Action Plan aims to revive U.S. shipbuilding and counter China’s dominance, with new funding and an Office of Shipbuilding. Industry leaders are optimistic, but the U.S. still faces a massive gap as China builds over half the world’s commercial ships. Add tariffs and port fees, and we have a very complicated environment that the industry has to navigate moving forward.

MORE: Can Trump’s Shipbuilding Order Compete With Chinese Investment? - Council on Foreign Relations

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