Opinion: Senator Todd Young – U.S. Has Surrendered the Seas to China — Here’s How to Win Them Back

The following was shared with the Bloomington by Senator Todd Young’s press office:

OPINION

By U.S. Senator Todd Young

First Published May 7, 2025, 6:00 p.m. ET in the New York Post

A nation’s safety and prosperity depend on the strength of its ships.

Just ask Xi Jinping.

In addition to possessing a powerful navy, China now operates the world’s largest commercial fleet — 5,500 vessels strong, with another 1,000 built annually.

And the United States?

Our commercial fleet stands at just 80 ships, with no more than five added in a given year.

This convergence — the rapid rise of China’s shipping dominance and the decline of our own — poses a threat to our economy and undermines our national defense.

As President Theodore Roosevelt said in 1905: “To the spread of our trade in peace and the defense of our flag in war, a great and prosperous merchant marine is indispensable.”

America’s 26th president would be furious at the current state of our maritime strength. Our shipbuilding sector has atrophied. Shipyards are sparse. And many of the vessels we do build can’t even cross an ocean.

The result? Chinese control over the global sea lanes — and a looming national security crisis.

But there is a path forward. And now we have a president who recognizes the urgency of this issue.

Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at reversing the shipbuilding decline. His plan calls for encouraging private investment to construct new shipyards and levying additional fees on Chinese ships docking at U.S. ports.

It’s a bold first step toward launching an American shipbuilding revival.

In Congress, we’re working to match that effort. Last week, I joined a bipartisan group of senators to reintroduce the SHIPS for America Act — comprehensive legislation designed to rebuild our commercial fleet and revitalize the maritime industry.

The bill complements Trump’s executive order by providing the necessary legislative support to build and crew a new U.S.-flagged fleet. It’s a long-overdue response to decades of neglect.

After World War II, America had the world’s largest commercial fleet. The shipping container itself — now an indispensable part of global trade — was invented by an American, Malcolm McLean.

But today, less than 0.4% of the vessels carrying goods in and out of the U.S. fly the American flag.

That dependency on Chinese-flagged vessels places our entire supply chain at risk. In a future trade war or military conflict, the Chinese Communist Party could paralyze the American economy — simply by refusing port access to their ships.

In a Pacific conflict, we’d face enormous logistical challenges moving troops and supplies. And without a robust shipyard industrial base, we’d struggle to build or repair warships at scale in an emergency.

The SHIPS for America Act aims to fix that.

It would:

• Establish national oversight and consistent funding for U.S. maritime policy
• Make U.S.-flagged vessels competitive through deregulation and permitting reform
• Rebuild shipyard infrastructure and workforce training programs
• Create a trust fund to expand the U.S.-flagged international fleet to 250 ships by 2035
• Offer investment tax credits to boost both military and commercial shipbuilding
• Launch a U.S. Center for Maritime Innovation with regional hubs to develop next-generation ship designs

Reviving our shipbuilding capacity won’t be easy — and it won’t be cheap. But the cost of continued inaction is far greater.

With his executive order, President Trump echoed Teddy Roosevelt’s belief in the power of a strong merchant marine. Now Congress must do its part to turn that vision into reality.

It’s time to make American ships again.

Sen. Todd Young represents the state of Indiana in the United States Senate.

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