"Today, the U.S. ranks 19th in the world in commercial shipbuilding, and we build less than 5 ships each year, while the PRC is building more than 1,700 ships. In 1975, the United States ranked number one, and we were building more than 70 ships a year." - Katherine Tai, U.S. Trade Representative (2021-2025)

The Trump Administration is on a mission to make shipbuilding great again… a bipartisan effort that started during the Biden Administration.

In the spring of 2024, the U.S. Trade Representative released the findings and recommendations of a Section 301 investigation into whether or not China is engaged in anti-competitive shipbuilding practices. This release led to the "Ships for America Act," introduced by Senator Mark Kelly, among others.

When both sides of the aisle agree, the problem must be huge… and in the case of U.S. shipbuilding capabilities, it is gargantuan.

There are currently about 80 U.S.-flagged ships involved in international commerce compared to over 5,500 China-flagged vessels, and the connection between military shipbuilding and commercial shipbuilding is too strong to ignore.

In this episode of the Art of Supply podcast, Kelly Barner:

• Tracks the downfall of U.S. shipbuilding from its peak in the 70s to today
• Examines China's strategy for combining military and commercial shipbuilding capabilities and how that has helped them build a dominant global position
• Considers the many moving pieces that will have to fall into place to put the U.S. on a better path

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