President Donald Trump vowed to bring shipbuilding “home to America, where it belongs,” while promising tax incentives and a brand-new office in the executive branch to reinvigorate the industry in his joint address to Congress on Tuesday.
“To boost our defense industrial base, we are also going to resurrect the American shipbuilding industry, including commercial ship building and military shipbuilding,” Trump said during his nearly two-hour speech. “I'm announcing tonight that we will create a new office of shipbuilding in the White House and offer special tax incentives to bring this industry home to America, where it belongs. We used to make so many ships. We don't make them anymore very much, but we're going to make them very fast, very soon. It will have a huge impact.”
Shipbuilding has emerged as a key theme for the second Trump administration. The president’s pick for Navy secretary, John Phelan, says Trump has texted him late at night about his rusty warship concerns.
The U.S. already builds ships domestically, but the number of manufacturers, shipyards, and suppliers has dwindled in recent decades—along with a skilled workforce—contributing to a significant backlog in production of warships and nuclear submarines.
