Kelly, Baldwin, Young, Scott Call on Trump to Stand Up to China and Prioritize U.S. Shipbuilding at Summit with President Xi

Senators call comes as China's unfair practices have decimated U.S. shipbuilding industry, hurting American workers and national security

Read in Reuters: US senators urge Trump to 'stand strong' on shipbuilding in talks with Xi

Today, Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Todd Young (R-IN), and Tim Scott (R-SC) are calling on President Donald Trump to prioritize the U.S. shipbuilding industry and to not offer concessions to China in his upcoming summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Over the last twenty years, China has become the dominant shipbuilding force globally through unfair trade practices, decimating the U.S. shipbuilding industry and hurting American workers, companies, and communities. The Senators are pushing the President to hold China accountable for their cheating in the upcoming negotiations, help reverse the losses felt, and level the playing field for American workers.

Last year, Kelly and Young, alongside Representatives John Garamendi (D-CA-08) and Trent Kelly (R-MS-01), introduced the SHIPS for America Act to revitalize the United States shipbuilding and commercial maritime industries.

"The United States is at an inflection point and cannot cede additional ground to the People's Republic of China (PRC). The PRC's decades-long effort to decimate American shipbuilding as part of their effort to position themselves as the dominant global shipbuilding power affords them no grace or opportunity for compromise," wrote the Senators in a letter to President Trump. "We urge you to stand strong during these negotiations as we work together to enact trade remedies and advance the SHIPS for America Act to level the playing field and create a strong commercial and military shipbuilding ecosystem in the United States. We urge you to prioritize America's maritime industry and its workers during this summit, and we stand ready to support these goals through legislation."

The Senators note that China has used unfair trade tactics, to dominate the global shipbuilding industry while weakening American shipyards over the past two decades. China now receives more than 60 percent of global commercial shipbuilding orders, while the United States lags behind several other countries in ship production. China's unfair dominance threatens good paying jobs and local economies across the country, in addition to American national security.

"These U.S. shipyards and their suppliers are major employers that provide a pathway to the middle class through good-paying and often union jobs and keep the knowledge and skill to build vessels used for military purposes and to carry goods around the world made in America. We must hold China accountable and reverse the loss felt over the last two decades to stand up for the hardworking Americans employed in the shipbuilding industry, those who serve in the military branches that need these vessels, and who live in communities supported by these jobs," the Senators continued.

Click here to read the full letter.