The Trump administration’s Maritime Action Plan could reshape global shipping, shipbuilding flows, and competitive dynamics impacting India.
The Trump administration has formally released its long-awaited Maritime Action Plan (MAP) on February 13, outlining a sweeping strategy to restore US shipbuilding and commercial shipping dominance, a move with potential ripple effects for India’s shipbuilding, maritime trade, and port ecosystem.
Put in motion in April 2025, the 36-page MAP, issued three months later than its anticipated November 2025 release, sets out a coordinated, multi-agency framework to revitalise US commercial shipbuilding capacity. While the plan largely consolidates previously discussed ideas, it provides clarity on execution pathways across federal agencies, funding mechanisms, and legal processes.
The MAP is structured around four key pillars: rebuilding US shipbuilding capacity, reforming workforce education and training, protecting the maritime industrial base, and strengthening national security and industrial resilience.
Implications for India’s Maritime and Shipbuilding Ecosystem
Although US-focused, the plan carries direct relevance for India, one of the world’s emerging shipbuilding and maritime service hubs. The MAP explicitly acknowledges that domestic redevelopment will take time and envisages international cooperation with foreign shipbuilders, opening potential opportunities and competitive pressures for Indian shipyards, equipment suppliers, and maritime service providers.
The plan notes that President Donald Trump has secured at least $150 billion in dedicated investment commitments, primarily from non-US interests, for America’s shipbuilding sector. The US Department of Commerce is tasked with mobilising these funds, potentially diverting global shipbuilding investments that might otherwise flow to Asian markets, including India.
A proposed “bridge strategy” allows initial vessels under multi-ship contracts to be built in foreign shipyards, while parallel investments are made in US yards for eventual localisation. This approach could influence Indian yards involved in export-orientated ship construction, repairs, and component manufacturing.
Trade, Costs and Competitive Pressures
Significantly, the MAP proposes a universal fee on all foreign-built commercial vessels calling at US ports. According to the document, a levy of 1 cent per kilogram of imported cargo on foreign-built ships could generate $66 billion over ten years, while a 25-cent per kilogram fee could yield nearly $1.5 trillion, funding a proposed Maritime Security Trust Fund.
For Indian shipping lines, exporters, and EXIM stakeholders, such measures could raise freight costs on US-bound trade, impacting competitiveness in key sectors such as engineering goods, automobiles, steel, and project cargo.
Strategic Significance
While the MAP does not reference the Jones Act, its emphasis on US-controlled vessels in international trade and national security priorities underscores Washington’s intent to reassert maritime influence globally. For India, the plan reinforces the need to accelerate domestic shipbuilding reforms, port competitiveness, and maritime financing to remain resilient amid shifting global maritime policies.
Source: Official US Maritime Action Plan document
