Baldwin to Trump: Hold China Accountable for Cheating American Shipbuilders

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) led a group of her colleagues in calling on President Donald Trump to hold China accountable for cheating trade laws to gain an unfair advantage in the shipbuilding industry.

In the final days of the Biden Administration, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a report Baldwin pushed for that confirmed China has used unfair trade practices to undercut American shipbuilding.

“To stand up for the hardworking Americans employed in the shipbuilding industry, those who serve in the military branches that need these vessels, and those who live in communities supported by these jobs, we must act quickly to hold China accountable and reverse the decimation of our maritime strength and capacity inflicted over the last two decades,” wrote Baldwin and the lawmakers in a letter to Trump.

“As we strive to grow the American economy, compete with the PRC, strengthen our ability to engage in international commerce and ensure the American military has the resources necessary to succeed, we urge your Administration to take action regarding the PRC’s actions in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors.”

In March of 2024, Baldwin called on the Biden Administration to fight China’s unfair trade practices, leading her colleagues in support of the United Steelworkers’ (USW) effort to have then-USTR Katherine Tai initiate a full investigation into China’s maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors.

The USTR launched an investigation last year, and the report released last month found that China targeted the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance, concluding that the PRC’s targeted dominance in these sectors is unreasonable and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce, and is therefore “actionable” under Section 301.

The report lays out China’s efforts to target the shipbuilding and maritime industry for dominance – using state-sponsored financial support to elevate their own industry, imposing barriers for foreign firms, and stealing intellectual property to give China’s shipbuilding and maritime industry an advantage.

According to the report, China also severely and artificially suppressed labor costs in the maritime, shipbuilding, and logistics sectors, undercutting American workers.

In her letter to Trump, Baldwin called on this administration to act on the results of the investigation.

Over the last 20 years, the United States has lost industrial shipbuilding capacity while China’s subsidized shipbuilding has grown. State-owned enterprises and other facilities in China are now capable of producing over 1,000 ocean-going vessels a year, while the United States currently produces fewer than 10.

While shipbuilding capacity, suppliers, and shipyards remain vital to the U.S. economy and national security, China’s uncompetitive trade practices have led to 25,000 domestic shipbuilding suppliers leaving the U.S. market over the past 20 years.

Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), John Fetterman (D-PA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) also signed the letter.