With his “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance” executive order last month, President Trump sounded the alarm: Our nation will either rebuild its commercial shipping fleet now or drift further into dependence on foreign vessels, most flying the Chinese flag.
The executive order’s mandate for a maritime action plan calls for a serious agenda by various agencies to revive the merchant marine, but meaningful change will require Congress to step up and do its job. That starts with creating real, sustained demand for U.S. shipping.
I grew up in Mobile, Ala., a port city with the maritime industry in its blood. My father worked as a commercial mariner, and I’ve had the privilege of representing a district with one of the largest shipyards in the country. I’ve seen firsthand how critical the maritime industry is to our economic and national security alike.
I’ve also borne witness to what decades of neglect have done to a once-proud industry. Growing up, I was in awe of the bustling waterfront with enormous cargo vessels of all types pulling in with the Stars and Stripes flying boldly from their flagstaffs, and homeports from the greatest cities in the country painted on their sterns.
Today, less than 1.6 percent of U.S. imports and exports move on U.S.-flagged vessels. The rest are hauled by foreign-owned fleets, often underwritten by our strategic adversaries. China-owned or subsidized shipyards now build 74 percent of the world’s ships — we build 0.2 percent. If this disparity doesn’t keep you up at night, it should.
Without a robust domestic shipping fleet, America is economically reliant and strategically vulnerable.
U.S.-flagged ships are required by law to support national defense in times of war or emergency, as they did to critical effect in numerous conflicts in our nation’s history. In a crisis, if our supply chain depends on a fleet we don’t control, we’re not a maritime power — we’re a client state.
President Trump’s executive order rightly targets the regulatory gridlock that has eroded American shipbuilding, but it falls to Congress to fill the other half of the equation: ensuring that U.S. ships have cargo to carry. Without steady demand for their services, new ships will just be left to rust at port.
I’ll offer three simple ideas to help accomplish this goal.
First, it should double the tax deduction for companies that ship American. Today, U.S. businesses can deduct 100 percent of shipping costs, whether they use U.S.-flagged or foreign vessels. But foreign ships typically operate at lower cost, thanks to less-stringent labor, safety, and tax regimes.
Doubling the current deduction to 200 percent for cargo moved on American ships would almost wipe out that price gap. It’s a simple, voluntary incentive that, by some estimates, could boost demand by nearly 20 percent and support the addition of nearly two dozen ships to the fleet.
Next, Congress should require 100 percent of taxpayer-funded cargo to be moved on U.S.-flagged vessels wherever possible. This rule is already in place at the Department of Defense, but most civilian agencies still operate under a 50 percent requirement to use U.S. vessels.
There is no sound rationale for that inconsistency. If taxpayers are footing the bill, the cargo should support American workers, American ships and American security. This would make a big difference given that the U.S. government is one of the largest shippers in the country.
And finally, we should expect more from American companies. Every week, I see ads touting a company’s “Buy American” values. But when will those same businesses commit to “Ship American?”
Congress can jumpstart the trend by encouraging the formation of a Ship American Coalition — an alliance of importers and exporters willing to voluntarily commit more cargo to U.S. vessels. Even a 10 percent shift from the likes of Amazon, Walmart and John Deere would have a meaningful impact on fleet demand, and they could benefit from the same patriotic branding they use to sell American-made goods.
Taken together, these ideas offer a streamlined, practical way to generate the cargo volumes that will sustain an expanded U.S. fleet. They are not merely a nostalgic appeal to maritime romanticism but rather an economic and strategic necessity. America cannot be the world’s leading economic power if we do not own our own ships — and use them.
I know from personal experience that our country doesn’t lack the talent or resources to build ships; we just lack the market incentives to justify the investment.
President Trump has taken the biggest step in decades to end the collective apathy that has led to our maritime decline. But unless Congress follows up with real reforms to create demand, the Maritime Action Plan will remain just that — a plan.
Jerry Carl is an American politician and businessman who represented Alabama’s 1st Congressional District from 2021 to 2025.