Trump’s Plan for Foreign-Built Navy Ships Runs Into Resistance

President Donald Trump’s push to open U.S. Navy shipbuilding to foreign yards is running into resistance from American shipbuilders and lawmakers who argue the policy risks sending jobs and critical industrial capacity overseas just as Washington is spending billions to rebuild the domestic maritime industry.

The pushback follows Trump’s August 13 national security memorandum creating a pathway for foreign shipbuilders to construct the first two vessels of certain U.S. Navy programs at their home yards before shifting follow-on production to the United States.

The administration calls the approach the “Finland Model,” borrowing from the U.S. Coast Guard’s Arctic Security Cutter program.