President Trump signed a memorandum allowing foreign shipbuilders that have invested in the United States to build up to 2 vessels in their home countries. It also set out a condition that subsequent vessels after the first 2 must be built at U.S. shipyards.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on the 13th local time stating that foreign shipbuilders that either build a new shipyard in the United States at the same time or secure ownership or a majority stake in a U.S. shipyard will be temporarily permitted to build up to 2 vessels at their headquarters in their home countries. All subsequent vessels must be built at U.S. shipyards. This sets out a framework intended to promote investment in the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.
The White House explanatory materials, or fact sheet, said foreign shipbuilders would be temporarily permitted to build up to 2 vessels at their home-country parent shipyards while making large-scale, sustained investments in U.S. shipyards and training U.S. workers for employment.
The memorandum also stated, as a strategic supplement, that it was intended to promote direct investment in the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base by systematically applying the “Finland model,” which is said to have been first applied successfully to the Coast Guard’s medium icebreaker program. It also cited Hanwha’s acquisition of Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia, United States.