WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Young Kim (R-CA-40) introduced legislation on April 30 aimed at rebuilding America’s shipbuilding industry and countering what she called China’s decades-long effort to rig the global maritime market in its favor, according to a press release from her office.
The bill — the Facilitating Leadership and Expertise through Exchange and Training in Shipbuilding (FLEETS) Now Act — would create a single “shipbuilding czar” to lead a national maritime revival, establish a new State Department position for maritime diplomacy, launch a shipbuilding exchange program with allied nations, and place maritime investigators at U.S. diplomatic posts abroad to detect unfair trade practices.
“The Chinese Communist Party has spent decades rigging the global shipbuilding market, converting billions in foreign revenue into their own military, and hollowing out American maritime capacity,” Kim said in the announcement. “That ends today. An America First economy means American ships, American workers, and American strength on land and at sea in partnership with our trusted allies. The FLEETS Now Act takes direct aim at Beijing’s chokehold by rebuilding our shipbuilding base and ensuring the United States — not China — sets the course for global commerce and security.”
The Problem the Bill Is Designed to Address
The strategic backdrop for the legislation is stark. China now controls over 53 percent of the global commercial shipbuilding market, while the United States accounts for just 0.1 percent, according to data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies — the same source cited in Kim’s press release. China’s share has surged from just 5 percent of global output in 2000, driven by massive state subsidies, military-civil fusion policies that integrate commercial and naval production, and a strategy of undercutting competitors on price.
The national security dimension goes beyond economics. China’s largest state-owned shipbuilder, China State Shipbuilding Corporation, builds commercial vessels and warships at the same dual-use yards, with revenue from foreign commercial orders flowing directly into the naval industrial base that supports the People’s Liberation Army Navy — already the world’s largest fleet by number of vessels, according to CSIS. Foreign companies, including firms based in U.S.-allied nations, purchase 75 percent of ships built at those yards, funneling tens of billions of dollars in revenue and technology into China’s naval buildup.
What the FLEETS Now Act Would Do
The legislation targets the problem across five interconnected areas, according to the official press release:
A Shipbuilding Czar. The bill would create a single senior official tasked with leading America’s shipbuilding renaissance — consolidating coordination across the multiple departments and agencies that currently work on maritime issues without unified direction.
A New State Department Position. The bill would authorize an Assistant Secretary for Water, Environment, and Space Affairs to lead maritime diplomacy and shipbuilding coordination at the State Department, ensuring U.S. foreign policy actively supports the maritime industrial strategy.
Allied Shipbuilding Partnerships. The legislation would rebuild the U.S. shipbuilding base and workforce by expanding domestic capacity, attracting investment from allied nations, and facilitating educational exchanges and ship construction collaboration with trusted partners — recognizing that South Korea and Japan, the only other major players in the global industry, are natural allies in any effort to shift market share away from China.
Maritime Investigators Abroad. The bill would place maritime investigators at U.S. diplomatic posts overseas to identify unfair shipping practices, denial of port access to U.S. vessels, and anticompetitive activity — giving Washington eyes on the ground in markets where China’s commercial maritime influence is most acute.
International Maritime Organization Reform. The legislation would work to ensure U.S. interests are protected inside the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization, specifically targeting the Net-Zero Framework that the bill characterizes as imposing “unrealistic and burdensome carbon taxes globally.”
Cosponsors
The bill drew immediate support from two colleagues. Rep. Amata Coleman Radewagen, who represents American Samoa, tied the legislation directly to her constituents’ dependence on ocean shipping. “American Samoa stands alone, far from the rest of the country. We rely on international shipping companies for everyday items that many Americans take for granted,” Radewagen said. “Expanding the ability for the United States to purchase ships built by friendly countries can promote the safety and prosperity of our island home.”
Rep. Mike Lawler also backed the bill. “If we’re serious about countering the PRC and securing our supply chains, we need to lead again on the seas,” Lawler said. “America’s maritime strength has been allowed to erode while the Chinese Communist Party has aggressively expanded its shipbuilding dominance. Stronger domestic shipbuilding capacity and targeted actions on bad actors in the region will restore American competitiveness and rebuild a critical workforce that once powered communities here at home.”
Broader Context
The FLEETS Now Act arrives amid a broader bipartisan push in Washington to address China’s maritime dominance. The U.S. Trade Representative launched a Section 301 investigation into China’s nonmarket shipbuilding practices in April 2024, and in early 2026 announced a docking fee regime targeting Chinese-built vessels calling at U.S. ports. President Trump has also called for reviving the American shipbuilding industry, pledging to create a new White House office dedicated to the effort. The full text of the FLEETS Now Act is available through Rep. Kim’s office.