When the premier in Italy Giorgia Meloni He decided to establish a ministry of the sea many fired their noses: what is it for? After all, it is now a consolidated habit that of drowning (sorry for the bistic) the sea things in the great cauldron of transport and his ministry; And again: the mercantile navy of the golden times, the one reborn thanks to the establishment of the International Maritime Register, is a story that has passed to the point that the number of navigation companies permanently rooted in Italy is now small … and so on.
The new weapon is maritime … also for Italy
He had probably not understood and he continues not to understand (perhaps with the sole exception of the premier who has always combined the sea also with the execution of the Mattei Plan and a relaunch through the Mediterranean of South Europe kicked for decades by the Franco-German axis) That maritime is not synonymous with spaghetti alla rock, or holidays in Rimini.
Maritimacy for a country like Italy can be the driver of a total role of role on the world commercial scenario and on the relationship between economy and geopolitical structures present and future as well as international alliances.
The maritime republics had understood this, the companies of the Indies … they struggle and much to understand it also the European rulers. In recent times, the maritime factor for Italy had been the subject of a project still in proud of the Seacs Center Giuseppe Bono.
This is understood, and this is the great and revolutionary factor of novelty, the President of the United States Donald Trump. Engaged in the checkered game on duties, accused of dictatorial follies, Trump has implemented in these hours a move that the fragile European governments have all the interest in keeping hidden.
The president Donald Trump has signed a large executive order aimed at revitalizing the American shipbuilding industry in difficulty, strengthen the maritime workforce and expand the global presence of the United States in the navigation sector. In a word to make the sea and maritime the winning weapon not only in the commercial war in progress, but also in the balance and commercial imbalances that will derive from it.
“Restore the US maritime dominance”
The executive order already in the title speaks volumes: “Restore the maritime dominance of the United States”. The document starts from a critical concern for national security, considering that currently the United States build less than one percent of commercial ships worldwide, while China produces about half of them.
At the center of the executive order is the Maritime Action Plan (MAP)which must be presented within 210 days. The order entrusts the President of the National Security of the President with the task of coordinating with various Cabinet Secretaries – including the Departments of State, Defense, Commerce, Work, Transport and Internal Safety – to develop an overall strategy.
Overturn in 90 days
The order also establishes several key initiatives with specific deadlines:
- Within 30 daysthe Transport Department will have to face the renovation of the United States Mercantile Academy of the Mercantile Navy and start hiring the staff necessary for the structures. At the same time, defense, transport and internal security departments will have to review the existing regulations to identify deregulation opportunities.
- Within 45 daysthere is a complete review of the shipbuilding sector, with the aim of increasing competition and reducing the costs exceeding in the construction of government ships. (In the meantime, a collaboration agreement has already been signed with the Koreans in Ch
- On the ninetieth day There are several results, including involvement with international allies on commercial policies, the development of Areas of maritime prosperitymodeled on the “opportunities zones” of the Trump 1.0 era, and a detailed relationship on the needs of the maritime industry. In this period, the Department of Defense will also have to develop a strategy for the safety of the Arctic waterways.
As for the development of the workforce:
The order requires an in -depth evaluation of the training and education of maritime. This includes the analysis of the potential for the creation of new academies of the merchant Navy and the establishment of National Maritime Study Bagsboth for American experts who study abroad, and for foreign experts who teach in the United States.
A central point is the contrast to Chinese maritime dominance. The order in charge the representative of the United States Commerce to consider the introduction of Duties on port cranes and freight handling equipment manufactured with Chinese components or by companies influenced by China.
A maritime finance plan
To strengthen internal skills:
The order establishes a Trusted Fund for Maritime Security and a Financial incentive program for naval shipbuilding In order to guarantee constant and long -term loan for MAP programs, possibly supported by duties, rates or tax revenues. These initiatives aim to provide stable funding for maritime programs and to encourage private investments in cantierist infrastructures.
The order also faces the escapade in the cargo route system linked to the current port maintenance tax (Harbor Maintenance Fee), implementing one 10% service rate On the foreign load that enters the Canadian or Mexican borders to avoid the circumvention of US port taxes.
To expand the US commercial fleet, the transport secretary must present, within 180 days, proposals to immediately increase the number of US flag ships in international trade and improve subsidies for commercial ships that can also be strategic for military use.
“Commercial shipbuilding capacity and the United States Maritime Work Forces have been weakened for decades of negligence by the government,” reads the order, underlining the need for immediate action.
This overall action probably represents The most ambitious federal effort of maritime revitalization In recent history and reports a significant change in the United States maritime policy, with the aim of reconstructing what is called a “industrial basis once strong”, while facing the concerns related to national security and economic competitiveness in global maritime trade.
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