The White House unveiled the Maritime Action Plan on February 13th aimed at reversing the decline in America’s merchant marine and commercial shipbuilding capacity. The plan emphasizes maritime strength as a fundamental element of both national and economic security. Officials state that nearly 99% of U.S. international trade carried by sea moves on foreign-built, foreign-owned, and foreign-flagged vessels, which showcases a major strategic vulnerability amid rising global tensions, particularly with China.
The specifics of the Maritime Action Plan
The plan carries out an executive order issued by President Donald Trump announced in April 2025 and is described as the first comprehensive federal strategy in decades to restore U.S. maritime strength. It outlines measures to expand the U.S.-flag fleet, upgrade shipyard infrastructure, and strengthen maritime supply chain as China now produces more than half of the world’s commercial ship tonnage while U.S. yards contribute only a small share. Officials also state that China’s heavily subsidized, automated shipyards have shipbuilding capacity more than 200 times that of the U.S., which shows the scale of the challenge that must be addressed.
A central objective of the plan is to rebuild domestic shipyards and the wider maritime industrial base that has declined dramatically over time. The U.S. today has 66 shipyards, but only 8 of them are active shipbuilding yards and only 11 shipyards have build positions. The remaining 22 yards are focused on repairs and 25 are topside repair yards. The Trump administration argues that this has not only weakened commercial shipping but also increased the cost of constructing U.S. Navy vessels by declining supplier networks and skilled labor pools. It is argued that the reviving of commercial yards would create economies of scale that would benefit both trade and defense.
How the plan will be funded
Securing long-term funding is a key element of the Maritime Action Plan. It proposes a universal fee based on tonnage on foreign-built ships calling at U.S. ports. It is estimated that a 1-cent rate could generate about 66 billion dollars over a decade, and a 25-cent rate might generate up to $1.5 trillion for a new Maritime Security Trust Fund. The fund is expected to serve as a dedicated source of capital for shipyard upgrades, expansion of the U.S.-flag fleet, and maritime workforce initiatives. The plan also calls for creating a Land Port Maintenance Tax, set at 0.125 percent of the value of merchandise entered via land ports. It states this would be similar to the Harbor Maintenance Tax and argues imports routed through ports in neighboring countries should also help finance U.S. infrastructure. This funding would be deposited in a new Land Port Maintenance Trust Fund.
Other areas selected for improvement
In addition to funding, the plan emphasizes regulatory and workforce developments, arguing investment alone will not restore competitiveness. It calls for the modernization of procurement methods and simplifying regulations to speed up construction timelines and reduce costs. Workforce reforms include expanded maritime education and training, a Military-to-Mariner program, and renewed support for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and state maritime schools to rebuild the mariner force. Cargo preference expansions, a U.S. maritime preference requirement, and temporarily bringing foreign-built ships under the U.S. flag are intended to deliver a short-term increase in U.S.-controlled shipping capacity.
While the scale of funding and the longevity of political support remain open questions, the administration’s plan represents a significant attempt to put maritime power back at the center of U.S. economic and security strategy.
