Trump to create office of shipbuilding, offer tax incentives

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By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump told Congress on Tuesday that his administration will create an office of shipbuilding in the White House and offer new tax incentives for the sector.

“I am announcing tonight that we will create a new office of shipbuilding in the White House and offer special tax incentives,” Trump said in an address late on Tuesday.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that the Trump administration was preparing an executive order aimed at reviving U.S. shipbuilding and cutting Chinese dominance of the global maritime industry.

The order includes 18 measures, including raising revenue from fees on Chinese-built ships and cranes entering the U.S., the newspaper reported.

China is the world’s largest producer of container ships.

Former U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration had concluded China used unfair policies and practices to dominate the global maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors.

China dismissed U.S. assertions and said the American government was blaming China for its own problems.

The U.S. and other Western powers have criticized what they deem China’s aggressive industrial policies and over-production of commodities such as steel, as reflected in rare bipartisan agreement about the need to support U.S. shipbuilding. China has denied any wrongdoing.

Sino-U.S. relations have been tense in recent years over issues as varied as import tariffs, technological advancement, the origins of COVID-19, human rights, the self-determination of Taiwan, security measures in Hong Kong and the ownership of TikTok.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Christopher Cushing)