U.S. President Donald Trump allowed foreign shipbuilders that invest in the U.S. shipbuilding industry to build up to two vessels overseas.
According to the White House on the 13th, local time, President Trump signed a memorandum titled "Rebuilding the U.S. Navy and Shipbuilding Industrial Base" that day.
In a fact sheet (explanatory material), the White House said, "If they make substantial and sustained investments in U.S. shipyards and train U.S. workers, they will be permitted to temporarily build up to two vessels at the parent company's shipyard," adding, "Subsequent vessels will be built at U.S. shipyards."
The White House said the targets are "foreign shipbuilders that simultaneously build a new shipyard in the United States, or that secure ownership or a majority equity stake in an existing U.S. shipyard."
The White House also explained, "This memorandum directs the Department of War (Ministry of National Defense) to pursue more direct investment in the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base based on the 'Finland model,' which was first applied in the Coast Guard's medium icebreaker program and proved successful."
It added, "They must provide proprietary shipbuilding technology licenses used at the parent company's overseas shipyard and use the U.S. supply chain for the construction and maintenance of all vessels at U.S. shipyards."