Senator Todd Young on Revitalizing US Shipbuilding and Maritime Strength

The Need for Updated Economic Thinking

• 💡 Senator Young emphasizes the need to update economic models to include national security and economic security premiums for critical goods.
• ⚠️ The global pandemic highlighted vulnerabilities in supply chains, particularly with semiconductors, underscoring the importance of domestic industrial capacity.
• 📉 The US industrial capacity, especially in strategic product manufacturing, has significantly declined since the 1970s, creating a bind for policymakers.

Sea Power and Maritime Strength

• ⚓ Dr. Maragleaniano explains that sea power, as conceptualized by Alfred Thayer Mahan, encompasses not just naval force but also economic force through trade and commerce.
• 🚢 The primary purpose of a navy is to ensure the smooth flow of a nation's economics and trade.
• 🌍 The US has shifted focus between being a continental and a maritime nation, and its current maritime dependency makes it vulnerable.

Supply Chain Vulnerabilities and the Ships Act

• 🚨 Recent incidents like the Ever Given blockage in the Suez Canal and disruptions along the US coast (Dolly, Baltimore) and in the Red Sea (Houthi) demonstrate the fragility of supply chains.
• 📉 Less than 2% of US imports and exports currently travel on US ships, creating a dependency on foreign vessels.
• 🚢 The Ships for America Act and the President's Maritime Action Plan are presented as solutions to rebuild US shipbuilding capacity and expand the US-flagged commercial fleet.

Addressing Doubts About US Shipbuilding Capacity

• 🛠️ Mr. Paxton asserts that the US shipbuilding industry is capable of responding to supply chain threats, with shipyards currently building large oceangoing vessels.
• 📈 The primary obstacle is not capability but the lack of a demand signal, which legislation like the Ships for America Act would provide, thereby opening up more capacity and potentially new shipyards.
• ⚖️ The historical precedent of the Jones Act in 1920, designed to change the cost structure of international trade, shares a similar motivation with the current push for the Ships for America Act.