Building Ships in America Act of 2025
The proposed bill aims to significantly impact U.S. maritime operations by establishing a more favorable tax environment for maritime industries. By providing tax credits and eliminating certain operational limitations, the bill seeks to stimulate investments in U.S. shipbuilding capabilities. This is particularly significant given the strategic importance of maintaining a robust maritime workforce and fleet as a component of national security. Additionally, the amendments regarding the treatment of maritime prosperity zones as opportunity zones are expected to encourage economic development in specific coastal communities.
SB1536, also known as the Building Ships in America Act of 2025, is designed to amend the Internal Revenue Code to bolster the national defense and economic security of the United States through various supports for vessels, ports, shipyards, and the maritime workforce via tax policy. The bill introduces a United States Vessel Investment Credit aimed at incentivizing investments in construction, repowering, or reconstruction of qualifying vessels built in U.S. shipyards. It also provides specific guidelines for what constitutes a 'qualifying vessel' and includes various provisions to exclude certain payments from gross income, thus making maritime activities more economically viable.
Key points of contention relate to the balance between incentivizing economic growth within the maritime sector and creating enforceable job protections. Provisions such as prohibiting the use of fully automated cargo handling equipment that could lead to job losses have drawn attention. Critics may argue that while the incentives will boost investments, they must be carefully structured to ensure that they do not lead to job losses in an already vulnerable sector. The reliance on U.S.-only operations for the qualification of certain tax credits could also be a point of debate regarding its implications for competition with foreign maritime markets and the associated regulatory burdens.