The Trump administration released on Friday a plan to rebuild U.S. shipbuilding and other maritime business, which will be paid for in part by port fees collected on cargo brought to the United States aboard ships manufactured in China.

The Maritime Action Plan provides a roadmap for the revival and growth of U.S. Shipbuilding. This industry has been in decline since World War II and is now far behind China and other countries.

The plan, which is more than 30 pages long, calls for establishing maritime wealth zones to boost investment, reforming worker training and education and expanding?the U.S. built and U.S. flagged commercial ships. It also calls for establishing a dedicated fund through a Maritime Security Trust Fund, and reducing regulation. Early last year, the?Trump Administration announced plans to charge fees to China-linked vessels to help loosen China's grip on global maritime and to pay for a U.S. Shipbuilding Renaissance. Section 301 penalties were imposed after a U.S. investigation concluded that 'China has unfair policies and practices to dominate global shipping. Fees that sparked a global backlash and increased tensions between two of the largest economies in the world were imposed on October 14. They were estimated to bring in $3.2 billion per year from Chinese-built ships sailing into U.S. port. China responded by imposing its own port charges on U.S. linked ships, and the tit for tat fees caused global shipping to be disrupted. The two sides reached a deal shortly after to suspend the fees for 12 months. Shipyard owners and investors, as well as the bipartisan sponsors behind the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security for America (SHIPS)?for America Act, welcomed Donald Trump's maritime plans on Friday. The plan was launched months later than expected.

U.S. Senator 'Todd Young', a Republican from Indiana, stated that there was a substantial overlap between Trump’s vision and this proposed law. He reintroduced it last year along with Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, and other legislators.

The SHIPS Act, which is important, would create a Maritime Security Trust Fund that would reinvest proceeds from port fees into maritime infrastructure and security projects like shipyard revitalization. The SHIPS Act has received rare support from both Democratic and Republican legislators in Washington but it is not moving forward quickly.

Young stated that the announcement should "serve as a 'wake-up call' for Congress to act swiftly on this bill to provide legal authorities and resources needed to make this plan reality." It's time to build American ships again. (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese, Jonathan Oatis, and Lisa Baertlein)

(source: Reuters)