Posted on March 4, 2026
On February 13, 2026, the White House released America’s Maritime Action Plan (the Plan) in response to the mandate set forth in Executive Order 14269, Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance, published on April 9, 2025 (the Order). The Plan includes legislative and regulatory action recommendations and seeks to establish a coordinated federal implementation structure; however, the Plan itself does not include concrete deliverables, amend or implement any regulatory action or impose any obligations or restrictions on industry participants at this time.
Generally, the Plan outlines a federal implementation framework for combined agency actions on, and federal investments in, US shipbuilding, port infrastructure and workforce development.
The Plan includes four “pillars” which include broad policy objectives and proposed recommendations to achieve such objectives, grouped into the following categories:
- Pillar I.“Rebuild US Shipbuilding Capacity and Capabilities”– Outlining recommended policy actions to increase domestic shipbuilding capacity, incentivize investment in US shipyards and accelerate shipyard modernization (including the establishment of a universal fee on foreign-built vessels from any nation entering US ports) and leverage international and industry partnerships to broaden supply-chain diversification.
- Pillar II.“Reform Workforce Education and Training”– Proposing expanded mariner training and education.
- Pillar III.“Protect the Maritime Industrial Base”– Calling for strengthened cargo preference requirements to align trade and commercial incentives with US national security interests.
- Pillar IV.“National Security, Economic Security, and Industrial Resilience”– Recommending military and trade actions to strengthen US national security and related economic interests.
Additionally, the Plan recommends substantial deregulation of the US maritime sector through the “elimination of outdated rules, streamlined compliance, and clarified policies” and signals the forthcoming introduction of a package of legislative proposals prepared by the Trump Administration which will seek to complement the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security Act of 2025 (SHIPS Act) and the Building Ships in America Act of 2025 to leverage a “whole-of-government approach” to “restore America’s maritime dominance.”
In accordance with the Order, the Plan functions as the federal government’s implementation framework for maritime industrial revitalization policy across civilian, defense, trade, workforce and infrastructure authorities. In doing so, the Plan assigns programmatic and regulatory responsibilities across multiple agencies, including the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Department of Transportation (DOT), Maritime Administration (MARAD), Department of Commerce (DOC), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of War (DOW) and United States Trade Representative (USTR), among others.
Background
On April 9, 2025, the White House issued the Order which directed various federal agencies to develop a suite of proposals and agency actions to be included in a comprehensive multi-agency “Maritime Action Plan” that would “revitalize and rebuild domestic maritime industries and workforce to promote national security and economic prosperity.” Apart from agency actions, the Order instructed various agencies to further support the preparation of legislative proposals supporting maritime industrial expansion and funding.
In parallel with the preparation of the Plan, federal agencies implemented trade, regulatory and industrial policy actions to address maritime industrial practices and domestic capacity constraints. One example of these actions is the USTR’s Section 301 Investigation of China’s Targeting the Maritime, Logistics and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance, as addressed in its April 17, 2025 Notice of Action and Proposed Action and subsequent implementation of fees and restrictions. Though the final USTR fees announced in connection with the investigation were subsequentially suspended for one year (until November 10, 2025), the Plan specifically addresses the investigation and notes that the US “will consult with China on shipbuilding capacity issues and continue its historic cooperation with the Republic of Korea and Japan on revitalizing US shipbuilding.”
Key policy pillars of the Plan
The Plan consolidates federal agency recommendations into a unified federal policy framework, as directed by the Order. The Plan is structured around four principal policy pillars, supplemented by deregulatory and legislative initiatives intended to support implementation of the overall revitalization plan. Each pillar includes the general policy objectives described in the Order and sets out specific programmatic proposed actions designed to achieve such objectives.
Pillar I: “Rebuild US Shipbuilding Capacity and Capabilities”
Noting that less than one percent of commercial ships globally are constructed in the US, the Plan proposes policies with the goal of accelerating shipyard modernization and growing a US-built and US-flagged fleet.
Most significantly, the Plan recommends establishing a universal “infrastructure or security fee” on all foreign-built commercial vessels calling at US ports of 1 cent per kilogram. The stated rationale for this fee is that it would yield “roughly $66 billion in revenue over ten years” while also noting that a fee of 25 cents per kilogram “would yield close to $1.5 trillion in revenue,” which the Plan further claims could be used for a Maritime Security Trust Fund and “ensures [foreign-built vessels] contribute to the long-term revitalization of America’s maritime capabilities.”
The Plan encourages development in marine infrastructure by proposing investments to upgrade commercial shipyards by adding and modernizing drydocks, heavy-lift and gantry cranes, automated material handling systems and pier utilities to support higher-rate production, while continuing recapitalization projects at certain US shipyards. The Plan further calls for the leveraging of “AI-driven design tools” and “emerging technologies.”
Additionally, the Plan calls for the establishment of “Maritime Prosperity Zones” modeled after the “2017 Opportunity Zones” concept, with the DOC authorized to designate 100 such zones for ten-year periods to incentivize domestic private capital and allied investment in maritime industries and waterfront communities across the US, including river regions, the Great Lakes, Alaska, Hawaii, US territories and the Gulf of America.
Finally, the Plan further endorses shipyard incentives through public-private partnerships, tax incentives for infrastructure investment and increased funding for existing MARAD programs, while recommending amendments to MARAD’s Title XI Federal Ship Financing Program including expanding eligibility, streamlining administration and providing shipyards access to long-term financing for capital projects. The Plan likewise suggests expanding shipyard capital improvement financing by establishing a new initiative modeled on MARAD’s Capital Construction Fund program, which would allow shipyards to establish tax-deferred accounts to reinvest earnings into infrastructure improvements, new equipment or debt payment.
Pillar II: “Reform Workforce Education and Training”
The Plan includes a variety of recommendations aimed at reforming and expanding existing mariner workforce education and training, including increased funding for mariner incentive programs which provide financial assistance for training and tuition. Additionally, the Plan recommends several policies with the intent of expanding US mariner education and training and proposes recommendations meant to “modernize” the US Merchant Marine Academy. The stated goal of these policy recommendations is to maintain a “comprehensive inventory of maritime training programs” to grow a capable and credentialed maritime workforce that will support the expansion of the US-flagged fleet.
Pillar III: “Protect the Maritime Industrial Base”
The Plan proposes measures targeting federal procurement and customs enforcement, including (i) instituting a new maritime preference requirement whereby high-volume exporting economies would be required to transport a gradually increasing percentage of their US-bound containerized cargo on qualifying US vessels as ships are being built in the US, and (ii) expanding cargo preference requirements by requiring an increasing percentage (up from 50 percent) of civilian US government agency cargoes be transported on US-flagged vessels.
Significantly, the Plan proposes establishing a Land Port Maintenance Tax, substantially mirroring the existing Harbor Maintenance Tax for seaports, imposing a tax of 0.125 percent of the value of merchandise entering the US through land ports of entry. The Plan notes that revenue from the proposed tax would be deposited into a proposed Land Port Maintenance Trust Fund which would have the stated goal of supporting land port infrastructure.
Pillar IV: “National Security, Economic Security, and Industrial Resilience”
The Plan includes recommendations oriented around US military capacity and Department of War initiatives, including recommendations aimed at enhancing US capacity to sustain military logistics, secure and control trade routes and support a wartime economy. The Plan recommends investments in developing domestic capacity for critical marine components (for example, large marine engines, reduction gears and propellers) while reducing sole-source dependencies, and the establishment of a Strategic Commercial Fleet of internationally trading US-built vessels receiving financial support for both construction and operation to ensure availability for military logistics during contingencies.
Notably, the Plan calls for an increased US maritime presence in the Arctic, which it identifies as a strategically important region. The Plan further proposes designating certain areas within the US Exclusive Economic Zone for streamlined permitting and testing of robotic and autonomous maritime technologies. Finally, the Plan also recommends exploring pathways to modernize the US inactive reserve fleet.
Deregulatory actions
In addition to the pillar-specific measures, the Plan calls for deregulation of the US maritime sector, including the elimination of “redundant” or “unduly burdensome” maritime regulations.
Illustratively, the Plan recommends:
- Reducing inspection, testing and “other redundant obligations” under Marine Equipment Regulations II and related guidance.
- Removing “outdated prescriptive requirements” for container construction, foam firefighting systems and liquified natural gas (LNG) bunkering safety and security provisions.
- Eliminating inspection of unmanned non-tank barges on the Great Lakes.
- Raising the major marine casualty property damage threshold from US$500,000 to US$2,000,000.
- Adjusting the EPA’s Engine International Air Pollution Prevention (EIAPP) Certificate requirements.
- Permitting underwater surveys in lieu of drydocking “where safe and appropriate.”
Next steps and implementation framework
As discussed above, the Plan recommends federal agencies implement the identified regulatory measures; however, implementation responsibilities for the Plan are diffused across agencies without actionable commitments or deadlines. One noted date is the announcement of the Trump Administration’s legislative package identified in the Plan, which will be released following publication of the FY 2027 President’s Budget Request. To the extent the Plan’s recommendations are pursued, next steps include the development of specific regulations and program guidance, publication of the legislative proposals and continued interagency coordination.
