H.R. 8615 — FLEETS Now Act

This section authorizes the United States International Development Finance Corporation to support harbors or ports, as defined in 47 U.S.C. 153, and related infrastructure. It also revises the definition of appropriate congressional committees under 22 U.S.C. 9601.

This section requires the Secretary of State, in coordination with other agencies, to brief the appropriate congressional committees within one year of enactment on companies or entities with financial relationships to the China Ocean Shipping Company Shipping Heavy Industry or the China State Shipbuilding Corporation and on their business practices. It also requires the President to submit a report to those committees within one year of enactment and annually for three years thereafter describing the companies’ subsidiaries, trading practices under USTR review, PRC government involvement in their operations and the Chinese shipbuilding industry, and shipyards producing warships or dual-use vessels for the People’s Liberation Army Navy.

This section declares it the policy of the United States to develop domestic capacity to produce commercial and military ships independent of supply chains that include materials from the People’s Republic of China. It requires a comprehensive effort, coordinated with allies and partners where appropriate, that includes workforce knowledge transfer and skill development, securing direct investment in U.S. shipyards by allies and partners, and a long-term strategy to diversify supply chains and expand capacity across all relevant federal agencies.

This section directs the President to designate, within 90 days of enactment, an individual as the primary United States Government point of contact for attracting international shipbuilding investment to the United States, leading cooperation with foreign governments on shipbuilding supply chain diversification, and coordinating international shipbuilding industries to enhance supply chain resilience and protect national security.

This section establishes an Assistant Secretary for Water, Environment, and Space Affairs within the Department of State, reporting to the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs. The Assistant Secretary assumes responsibility for space, oceans and maritime diplomacy, polar affairs, environmental quality, freshwater, fisheries, wildlife trafficking, conservation, and related duties, and must carry out 17 enumerated functions including law-of-the-sea negotiations, Antarctica engagement, ecosystem conservation, transboundary pollution policy, commercial space partnerships with NASA and Commerce, GNSS interoperability, the U.S. space object registry, and maritime diplomacy under the FLEETS Now Act.

This section authorizes interchanges and visits between the United States and other countries of marine engineers, naval architects, electrical engineers, deck-plate professionals, marine surveyors, shipyard infrastructure analysts, quality assurance and quality control personnel, shipyard project managers, and other shipbuilding experts through the date that is 2 years after enactment. It expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should initiate an exchange visitor program to increase shipbuilding knowledge, training, experience, and expertise in the American shipbuilding workforce.

This section adds to the annual country- and region-specific reports on commercial relations with foreign countries and regions a requirement to include information about unfair business practices in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors, including price-fixing, market manipulation, unreasonable refusal to deal, and anticompetitive agreements between ocean carriers and marine terminal operators.

This section directs the President to engage allied countries to develop a shared framework enhancing collective capacity to design, produce, and maintain military and civilian ships. The framework requires mechanisms for reciprocal port access during crises, co-development of design principles, collaborative construction and repair to reduce costs, joint workforce training, research sharing, procurement from specialized allied shipyards, and prevention of dual-use technology leakage to companies connected to the military of the People’s Republic of China.

This section establishes the Maritime Group of Nations, led by the Secretary of State, to coordinate regulatory and commerce policies among qualifying countries for commercial shipping. The group excludes countries of concern and limits participation to nations that rank in the global top 15 in at least two of shipbuilding tonnage, merchant mariners, or commercially owned ships over 1,000 gross tons. It directs the group to support maritime prosperity zones, a reciprocal fee on foreign-built vessels, reciprocal trade agreements, collective positions at the International Maritime Organization, and an exchange visitor program.

This section directs the Secretary of State to instruct the United States Ambassador to the United Nations to urge the International Maritime Organization to revise its Net-Zero Framework by excluding limits on conventional fuels and liquefied natural gas, removing financial penalties and net-zero 2050 targets, advancing United States candidates for senior positions including Secretary-General, combating anti-competitive practices by the People’s Republic of China, and de-linking United States environmental requirements from international certificates.