(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump said French shipping giant CMA CGM SA will invest $20 billion in the United States to develop maritime infrastructure, logistics and terminals.
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An estimated 10,000 new jobs would be created by the projects, Trump said at an event at the White House alongside CMA CGM Chief Executive Rodolphe Saadé. The investments would be made over four years, the container line said in a subsequent statement.
“It’s so important because it’s about shipping,” Trump said. “You know, we lost our way for many years. We haven’t done anything. We used to build a ship a day.”
The president added that he plans to announce a new government program for shipbuilding next week. In his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Trump said he would “create a new office of shipbuilding in the White House and offer special tax incentives to bring this industry home to America.”
Saadé’s trip to Washington came as the family controlled CMA CGM seeks to lessen its vulnerability to Trump’s trade and maritime policies. The company founded by his father plays a major role transporting goods across the oceans and also has a longterm partnership with Chinese shipping companies. CMA CGM, China’s Cosco, Taiwan’s Evergreen and Hong Kong-based OOCL last year extended their capacity-sharing agreement called the Ocean Alliance to 2032.
“We are very enthusiastic about this big announcement of today,” said Saadé, standing at the event with Trump and a map of the southern US showing the “Gulf of America.” The company was also examining investing in building container vessels and could make an additional announcement in the coming weeks, the CEO said.
Trump has hosted leaders from a number of companies – including Apple Inc., SoftBank Group Corp. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. – promising multi-billion dollar investments in the US.
In its statement, CMA CGM said the money would be spent to increase its US-flagged American President Lines fleet to 30 vessels from 10, and to develop US port infrastructure including in New York, Los Angeles, Dutch Harbor, Houston and Miami. It also plans to develop warehousing, open a logistics center in Boston and establish an air cargo hub in Chicago.
Saadé has in recent years taken a significant portion of his quick-paced expansion spree to the US, acquiring major container terminals in the Port of Los Angeles as well as New York and New Jersey.
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