Outsourcing the US shipyard industrial base will outsource American sovereignty

We live in an increasingly connected world. More goods and services move beyond borders and around the world with every passing year. Today more than 90 percent of the world’s goods move by sea.

You can thank the United States Navy for that. Since World War II, our sailors have kept the world’s shipping lanes open and commercial travel safe around the world. But today we face the real possibility of losing our dominance, making the world less safe.

This is not news to the military or its supporters in Congress. The problem is that some advocates are turning towards a well-meaning, but poorly-thought-out solution: Outsource America’s shipbuilding rather than increase investments domestically. That would be a mistake.

First, the facts: The world needs a strong US Navy — and the US Navy needs a larger fleet.

Today’s fleet of 300 ships falls 80 ships short of the goals in the Navy’s Battle Force Ship Assessment and Requirement (BFSAR) study, the fleet size the Pentagon believes is necessary to achieve the Administration’s national security strategy. It also falls well short of the Congressionally mandated requirement of 355 ships.

Meanwhile, our rivals are going into overdrive to put an end to American naval dominance. China already has the largest navy in the world, with 370 ships. And the gap is only growing as China continues to build: The Department of Defense estimates that the Chinese navy will grow to 395 ships by 2025 and 435 ships by 2030. Even the Pentagon’s industrial base strategy acknowledges that China is now “the global powerhouse in … shipbuilding … [and] vastly exceeds the capacity of not just the United States, but the combined output of our European and Asian allies as well.”

This ought to ring alarm bells in Washington and in the capitals of all of our allies, from our traditional NATO partners to the Philippines, which is currently the target of China’s naval aggression.

America’s private sector also needs more ocean-going ships. According to US government estimates, China has more than 7,300 merchant ships. The US has just 178. In case of emergency, China’s Navy has a vast supply of merchant ships that it can call on, while the US has not prioritized investing in new reserve ship assets since the 1990s.

But there is good news: America’s shipyards are ready to build the fleet of the future. Many of our shipyards have underutilized capacity that, if optimized, can achieve these ambitious and necessary goals, including building critical submarines for our allies, for both the private sector and the military alike.

Today’s Navy leadership recognizes the need to build more ships. The Navy’s shipbuilding budget request has increased by nearly half over the last three years and is now much closer to where it needs to be.

Leaders in Congress on both sides of the aisle, including Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., recognize the need for action and have generated a report to guide Congress on how to develop a national maritime strategy. Earlier this month, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said in a speech to the Hudson Institute, “Looking ahead, we also have to reinvest in our maritime sector and begin building new ships and new shipyards.” This is the direction we must follow.

We need to build up our Navy — but we need to do it the right way.

Earlier this year, Navy leadership floated the controversial idea of coproduction of US Navy ships with foreign shipyards and expanding the use of foreign yards for ship repair.

This would be a disastrous mistake both for our Navy and for America’s shipbuilding industrial base — especially because we can build better at home with our domestic workforce. If we need more ships or repairs for our national security fleet, the answer is not to outsource our Navy’s shipbuilding to Korea and Japan, kicking American shipyard workers to the curb. Which is why the US government must focus on long-term investment in America’s shipyard industrial base, just as private industry has invested in itself.

While the talking point of outsourcing shipbuilding as the easy answer may look good in headlines, it’s the exact opposite of a solution to this urgent problem. Instead, consistent, predictable budgets and acquisition strategies from government customers coupled with enforcement of existing laws, like the Jones Act, are critical to maintaining and expanding our domestic shipyard industry.

Some of our allies took the outsourcing path, and now are desperately trying to rebuild the industrial base back to what it once was — but they have lost the technical expertise, the infrastructure, and most importantly, the craftsmen to make it a reality. As a nation, why would we ever entertain this idea when we can see what it has done to our allies?

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro has said rightly that “we must explore any and all opportunities to expand our own shipbuilding capability.” Del Toro himself has identified several promising ideas that would do just that, such as multiyear procurement contracts and advance procurement funding. These are good ideas, but they must be done in our homeland, not by sending hard earned tax dollars and jobs overseas to bolster another country’s industrial base.

Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump say they want the federal government to buy a greater share of its products from American companies. Both presidents issued “Buy American” executive orders after taking office. Both leaders should apply this bipartisan principle to our Navy and commit to building and repairing America’s Navy in America in 2025 and beyond. It is good economic policy. It is good national security policy and it is 100 percent bipartisan.

There is a lot at stake. Our sailors safeguard the seas and protect the livelihoods of everyday Americans and billions around the globe. America’s sailors deserve the best ships we can provide them — those ships are built and maintained in America by American workers in American shipyards. Navy leaders should not outsource our national security but should grow the fleet of the future here in America.

Matthew Paxton serves as president of the Shipbuilders Council of America.