Saadé said his company was also examining investing in building container vessels and could make an additional announcement in the coming weeks. (Claude Paris/Associated Press)
President Donald Trump said shipping giant CMA CGM SA would invest $20 billion into the United States to build out shipping logistics, infrastructure and terminals.
An estimated 10,000 new jobs would be created by the effort, Trump said at an event at the White House alongside CMA CGM CEO Rodolphe Saadé.
“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.”
CMA CGM ranks No. 7 on the Transport Topics Top 50 list of the largest global freight carriers.
The president added that he planned to announce a new government program for shipbuilding next week. In his address to a joint session of Congress on March 4, 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 said his company was also examining investing in building container vessels and could make an additional announcement in the coming weeks.
“We are very enthusiastic about this big announcement of today,” he said.
It’s not clear what portion of the announcement by CMA CGM represents a new commitment. Trump has hosted leaders from a number of companies — including Apple Inc. and SoftBank Group Corp. — promising multi-billion dollar investments in U.S. operations.
Trump announced the initiative before signing an order that partially rolls back tariffs he imposed on Canada and Mexico earlier this week. While the White House has said they want to use the import taxes to force companies to return to the U.S., the move has roiled markets.
