Golden leads 68 lawmakers pressing Biden administration on threats to domestic shipbuilding

WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) today led a letter to President Joe Biden and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai urging swift action to counter China’s domination of maritime industries. His letter comes as the USTR’s office investigates unfair Chinese trade practices in the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors after accepting a petition sent from a coalition of unions. 

Golden’s letter was co-led by Representatives Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Steven Horsford (NV-04), and Mark Pocan (WI-02), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Joe Courtney (CT-02), and Val Hoyle (OR-04). It was signed by 68 representatives. 

“China’s cheating — and its resulting outsize maritime capacities in the face of our own shipbuilding crisis — has led to our nation’s military leadership sounding the alarm,” the lawmakers wrote. “According to U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, China operates 13 large shipyards, with a single yard representing more capacity than all American yards combined.Even more shockingly, the U.S. Navy estimates that China’s shipbuilding capacity is roughly 232 times greater than the United States.”

“Our nation has recently turned the page on decades of inaction, working to rebuild our critical infrastructure and strengthen the supply chains critical to the safety and livelihood of the American people,” the lawmakers wrote. “However, a key component of that infrastructure – our shipbuilding, repair, maintenance, and logistics sectors – has languished in the face of overwhelming efforts by the Chinese government to dominate the global maritime industry. It is time to rectify that.” 

Specifically, the lawmakers highlighted a March proposal by labor unions to create a U.S. Commercial Shipbuilding Revitalization Fund. This program would support existing measures that incentivize domestic shipbuilding while investing in stronger supply chains and increased workforce development.

“Our national security, and thousands of good IAM Union jobs, depends on standing up to predatory Chinese trade practices in the shipbuilding industry,” International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Eastern Territory General Vice President David T. Sullivan said. “As a native Mainer and IAM Local S6 shipbuilder by trade, I have been proud to work with Congressman Golden as we push USTR to take on China’s takeover of shipbuilding. The IAM Union stands ready to defend our national security and the dedicated workforce that makes it possible.”

Golden has been an ardent supporter of U.S. shipbuilding and a leading voice for the need to revitalize American manufacturing at large. In addition to securing authorization for Bath Iron Works to build a DDG-51 destroyer in 2025 and ensuring the shipyard continues to be a leader in naval warship production, Golden helped secure authorization for $50 million for shipyard infrastructure and technological improvements and more than $150 million for shipyard research and development in this year’s federal budget. This authorization represents years of additional work for Maine shipbuilding on top of existing orderssecuredby Golden in the past.  

In September he introduced legislation that would implement a 10 percent tariff on all imports, which followed legislation in May that would raise tariffs on Chinese-made automobiles and energy components to ensure America’s industrial base, and thus its future, is strong. He published an essay the same month on the importance of a robust production economy for national security and middle-class prosperity.  

Golden’s newest letter can be found here, and is included below in full:

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October 18, 2024

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Biden:

We write in strong support of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) investigation into discriminatory and unreasonable trade practices by the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) concerning the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors. We urge you to reach a swift conclusion in this investigation and to consider strong and effective remedies to begin to turn the tide on our decades-long domestic shipbuilding crisis.

In the face of China’s unfair, predatory and highly discriminatory practices, U.S. shipbuilding and maritime supply chain industries have been forced to compete on an uneven playing field, facing shipyards and order books that have benefited from hundreds of billions of dollars of state-directed funding. China’s industry is insulated from market forces, utilizes state-owned enterprises to provide cheap inputs and cut yard production costs, and strengthens the People’s Liberation Army’s Navy with expansive shipbuilding, repair, and maintenance capacities. Meanwhile, U.S. shipyards have been shuttered or forced to compete for a handful of remaining contracts. While the U.S. produces fewer than 10 ocean-going vessels annually, Chinese yards churned out over a thousand.

China’s cheating — and its resulting outsize maritime capacities in the face of our own shipbuilding crisis — has led to our nation’s military leadership sounding the alarm. According to U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, China operates 13 large shipyards, with a single yard representing more capacity than all American yards combined.2 Even more shockingly, the U.S. Navy estimates that China’s shipbuilding capacity is roughly 232 times greater than the United States’.

To meet the immense challenge of rebuilding U.S. maritime capabilities, we need a robust, highly-trained workforce. Tens of thousands of jobs have been lost as shipyards have closed and experienced workers have been forced out of the industrial base. The United States needs a healthy and revitalized maritime industry capable of meeting the commercial and defense needs of our nation for years to come. That will require making the investments needed to recruit, train and expand our world-class industrial workforce. Breaking the boom-and-bust cycle that has plagued U.S. shipbuilders is critical to maintaining that workforce and growing critical supply chains.

The shipbuilding sector is still enduring the aftershocks from the closure of the Avondale shipyard in Louisiana in 2014. At one time, that yard employed over 26,000 people and was one of the top employers in the state of Louisiana. With that closure, the U.S. lost a key shipyard capable of building, repairing, and maintaining large commercial and specialty vessels. That workforce and capacity loss has yet to be restored.

While U.S. workers were laid off and our capacity and know-how were lost, China’s shipbuilders were capturing additional market share and extending their growing domination of the global shipbuilding industry. According to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), in the first six months of this year, their shipyards accounted for almost 75% of the world’s new orders, while holding almost 60% of existing orders on their books.

Our nation has recently turned the page on decades of inaction, working to rebuild our critical infrastructure and strengthen the supply chains critical to the safety and livelihood of the American people. However, a key component of that infrastructure – our shipbuilding, repair, maintenance, and logistics sectors – has languished in the face of overwhelming efforts by the Chinese government to dominate the global maritime industry. It is time to rectify that.

The March 2024 petition submitted by a coalition of labor unions includes potential measures to revitalize America’s shipbuilding capacity through the creation of a U.S. Commercial Shipbuilding Revitalization Fund to (1) support existing U.S. government programs such as Construction Differential Subsidies, the Federal Ship Financing Program, and small shipyard grants; (2) expand the Maritime Security Program and the Tanker Security Program’s enrolled vessels with a premium on enrolling U.S.-built vessels; and (3) implement measures to increase demand for U.S.-built ships including through graduated requirements to transport U.S. energy products on U.S. built, flagged, and crewed vessels; and (4) promote the revitalization of shipbuilding supply chains and invest in training and workforce development. 

We believe that USTR’s investigation will conclude that China’s predatory actions demonstrate a clear and unambiguous intent to dominate global markets to the detriment of American workers and industry. The result of the investigation, with your help, can lead to measures being put in place to restore American capacity in these sectors.

We strongly urge you to swiftly conclude this investigation and to implement resolute measures to remedy decades of unfair and discriminatory policies by the CCP that have harmed our members and the economic and national security of the United States. The remedies must be commensurate in scope and magnitude to the large-scale harm caused to U.S. industry over the past several decades. We look forward to joining you as we commit to a brighter future for the U.S. shipbuilding, maritime, and logistics sector.

CC: Ambassador Katherine Tai, U.S. Trade Representative

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