The U.S. shipbuilding industry has fallen on hard times. President Donald Trump wants to revive the sector, starting with new fees on Chinese-made container ships that carry a huge chunk of global trade. But reviving America's nautical might will likely be difficult. 

The proposed fees are meant to penalize Beijing for its "chokehold on the construction of commercial vessels," said The Washington Post. Money charged to Chinese ships when they dock at U.S. ports would subsidize a "commercial shipbuilding industry that has fallen into disrepair." But like Trump's other tariffs, the fees also "threaten the system of oceangoing trade" and could cause a "repeat of the supply chain disruptions" that frustrated American consumers during the pandemic.

Bringing back shipbuilding capacity
Trump's proposals would amount to the "biggest investment and commitment to U.S. maritime capabilities" since World War II, said Michael Wessel, a former member of the U.S.-China Commission, to the Financial Times. But Replacing China-made ships with new American models is "not like flipping a light switch," said Reuters. American shipyards build "fewer than 10 ships annually," while their Chinese counterparts produce more than 1,000. Trump's plan, industry executives said, is likely to "backfire."

Trade groups believe America is "not prepared to win an economic war against China-built containerships," said CNBC. An estimated 98% of the global shipping fleet would be affected by the fees. 

Farmers would be hard hit. The Agriculture Transportation Coalition said there are no U.S.-built ships ready to carry American agricultural exports. "If they were available at a reasonable cost," agricultural exporters "would already be using this option," said AgTC Executive Director Peter Friedmann.

'Significant' pain for consumers
"This entire enterprise is misguided," said Colin Grabow at the Cato Institute. China is not responsible for "U.S. maritime woes that long predate China's rise as a shipping and shipbuilding power." Beijing's shipbuilders "would surely feel some pain" from the fees, but the cost to American exporters and consumers "would be significant." 

There were a "handful" of proponents at yesterday's hearing, said Bloomberg. Scott Paul, the president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, said the proposed fees would "push back against China's unfair trade practices and revitalize shipbuilding in America." 

Others were skeptical. The fees "won't work" to rebuild U.S. shipbuilding, said Joe Kramek, CEO of the World Shipping Council.

When President Donald Trump tapped Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services, many public health officials and critics were wary of Kennedy's history of embracing questionable conspiracy theories. But a growing group of "momfluencers" feel vindicated by his appointment and have become vocal proponents of his and Trump's health agenda.

Who are they?
A coalition of momfluencers and food activists, also known as "crunchy moms," have become RFK Jr.'s most fervent supporters. Their interest in certain aspects of the national health agenda has "turned them into a potent political force" that forms a "critical part" of the "Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement," said Unherd. 

The group has made the "business of motherhood," including "what their children are eating, what kind of medical care they receive, what products they use," a key political issue. Their "Covid-era-fueled suspicion of the medical and scientific establishment" has evolved into a "defining tendency on the right."

Kennedy recently held a gathering for what he calls these "MAHA moms." The agenda included topics like food additives, infant formula and screen time, said The Wall Street Journal. 

What's their goal?
Kennedy and the MAHA moms have made it clear that the food industry is in their crosshairs. He wants Americans to eat Froot Loops with "dyes made from colored blueberries and carrots, instead of chemicals," and for French fries to be "cooked like they are in Europe," said the Times. The latter charge, part of MAHA's push against seed oils, has encouraged burger franchise Steak 'n Shake to begin cooking its fries in Kennedy's preferred frying agent, beef tallow.

The moms additionally backed Kennedy's alternative ideas about treating measles amid an ongoing outbreak in Texas and New Mexico. Instead of urging the public to get the measles vaccine, RFK Jr. has "enthused about the effectiveness of vitamin A and cod liver oil as treatments," said Unherd. Vitamin A and cod liver are also the treatment of choice for the crunchy moms, who are now "widely credited with powering Kennedy's ascent."