Charlie Papavizas Quoted in TradeWinds Article Discussing the Future of U.S. Shipbuilding in a Chinese-Dominated Industry

Winston & Strawn partner Charlie Papavizas, who focuses his practice on maritime and admiralty law, was quoted in a TradeWinds article discussing a recent legislative proposal called the Ships for America Act that was put forth by a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers to build a fleet of 250 vessels. While there are concerns about funding the program and questions as to whether the proposal properly incentivizes building the ships in a series, there are also political changes to consider.

Charlie said that “under the current structure, shipowners that take advantage of the subsidies to build in the US have to consider the risk that it will be repealed two years later, after new congressional elections.”

“If that’s how you do it, you’re forcing owners to price into their annual contracts so much risk,” he said.

Congress has taken a comprehensive look at the maritime industry, and while Trump has not yet mentioned shipbuilding in his early executive orders, Charlie says that “his tariff vision provides the underpinnings for the US to discriminate against Chinese-owned ships or those built at the country’s yards.”

“We’ve already advised clients: ‘Go ahead and order a ship in China, but when it’s delivered three years from now, you’ve got to worry about whether it’s going to be subjected to discriminatory tariffs or duties or tonnage tax,” Charlie said.

Read the full article.