Trump touts foreign investments in the US
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The president took the opportunity to tout several recent successes:
PRESIDENT TRUMP: What we're doing is, we're building a tremendous foundation for the future. Tremendous foundation. Everything's been taken away. We don't make ships anymore. We don't... You know, you just saw one of the biggest shipbuilders in the world, one of the biggest shipping people in the whole world...
MARIA BARTIROMO: In the Oval Office with you.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: In the Oval Office. He's announcing a $20 billion in the United States, which he never would have done, except for this. But look at this; Honda, Toyota, they're all coming in. You take a look at what's happening, chipmaker, the greatest chipmaker, Mr. Wei, the biggest in the world, by far, is going to spent $200 billion on making a massive plant to make chips.
MARIA BARTIROMO: So that's your message, build it here?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Build it here, there's no tariff.
The CMA CGM Group announced the deal on its website last Thursday.
CMA CGM Group, a global leader in sea, land, air, and logistics solutions, and owner of the U.S. flag carrier American President Lines (APL), today announced a $20 billion investment to contribute to U.S. maritime economy and support the transformation of America’s domestic supply chain over the next four years. This announcement builds on CMA CGM Group’s 35-year presence in the U.S. Today, the Group operates in 40 states and employs 15,000 Americans. As a leading partner in U.S. trade, CMA CGM transports over 5 million shipping containers to and from the country each year.
It's unclear whether any of CMA CGM Group's investments will be in shipbuilding.
Since 2000, the number of U.S. flag merchant ships has declined from 282 to 185. There are, as of January, 10 major shipyards in the United States that are actively building ships. In 1945, the United States Navy maintained 6,768 combat and support ships. That number in 2016 was 275. Today, it is 239. Granted, modern naval vessels have capacities far beyond those of 1945, but at some point, numbers matter, too.
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Tariffs have become an incentive for foreign investments in the US. While these investments are important for US jobs, it would be even better if the US was able to produce these jobs on its own.
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