Why Trump Wants to Target China’s Dominance in Shipbuilding

Ships are the backbone of global trade, and Donald Trump is unhappy that most of them are made in China.

His government argues that China’s dominance in ship construction was achieved unfairly and harms American interests. It’s proposed to levy a fee of at least $1 million each time a Chinese-operated or Chinese-built ship enters a US port, and demand that more American vessels transport US products.

The ultimate goal is to engineer a revival of domestic shipbuilding. The US hasn’t made ocean-going commercial ships in significant numbers since the 1970s, and China has competitive advantages that are making ...