GREEN BAY, WI- (WGBW) – Sitting on two of the Great Lakes puts Wisconsin in a unique position regarding maritime commerce and shipbuilding for military interests. U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin is concerned about the nation’s reliance on components from elsewhere, and she wants to ensure our nation’s shipbuilding industry remains strong and vibrant.

To help keep the domestic shipbuilding industry going strong, Baldwin has introduced “Buy America” and “Made in America” requirements into the defense bill.

“By the way, we know about the big shipyards in Wisconsin, but there are hundreds upon hundreds of small businesses that supply certain components for those ships,” said Baldwin. “I’ve been successful in the Biden Administration, and the Trump Administration before that, and the Obama Administration before that in including those and strengthening those ‘Buy America’ requirements.”

She added that military vessels aren’t the only ones to be concerned with. Baldwin said not so many decades ago, the U.S. dominated shipbuilding. That is no longer the case.

Screen grab from U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin appearance in a virtual town hall meeting with NE Wisconsin constituents last week.

China outpacing US in Shipbuilding

“I think in the last full year for which there are records, we’ve built, in the United States, five commercial ships. And China built 1,700!” Baldwin said. “Hopefully, that sunk in. We have gone from being dominant in commercial shipbuilding to having our lunch eaten by China. And it matters that we have U.S.-flagged vessels out there. It matters for all sorts of reasons. Part of it is security. Part of it is just commerce and the health of our economy.”

Baldwin added that she will be happy to work with President Donald Trump on efforts to resurrect the US shipbuilding industry. Early in his current administration, the President said he was committed to that objective. Last week, Trump directed the Department of Defense to explore actions that could bring commercial shipbuilding back to the U.S. She said one of the actions might be docking fees for Chinese vessels.

“He set in motion the work the administration has to do to see that through,” said Baldwin. “And that’s one where I’ll work closely with him.”

Baldwin made her comments during a virtual town hall meeting for her constituents in Northeast Wisconsin last week.

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