Holding back economic advance of Chinahas been one of the White House's major policy goals since the first term of US President Donald Trump .

But a proposal to counter Chinese dominance in shipbuilding, backed by huge state subsidies, isn't a Trump idea. It was petitioned for by five United States labor unions under the Joe Biden administration.

In February, the United States Trade Representative (USTR), which was tasked with investigating the issue, proposed a $1.5 million (€1.42 million) fee for any Chinese-made ship docking at a US port. The fee is justified, USTR said, to counteract what it sees as unfair advantages gained by China in shipbuilding that "burden or restrict US commerce."

Over the past three decades, China has become the dominant global force in ship production. In 2023, China's share of shipbuilding tonnage crossed the 50% mark, up from just 5% in 1999. The Chinese government has backstopped the sector to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars while pushing out foreign competitors.

Despite China's incredible advance, Albert Veenstra, professor of trade and logistics at Erasmus University Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, criticized the false idea that the Asian giant has undermined the once-thriving US shipbuilding industry.

"The reasoning is that China has wronged us by creating a shipbuilding industry. As a result, we don't have a shipbuilding industry anymore. But this........

© Deutsche Welle