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Jun 16, 20261
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Congress Restricts Trump Administration's Plan to Purchase Foreign-Built Warships
Congress has voted to remove the president's waiver authority to purchase foreign-built warships while allowing the Pentagon to acquire auxiliary vessels from allied shipyards under strict conditions and reporting requirements. The restrictions target the Trump administration's plans to acquire Navy frigates and destroyers from South Korean and Japanese yards.
Quick Facts
Who
Trump administration
What
Removal of presidential waiver authority from Title 10 for foreign warship purchases
When
Fiscal Year 2027
Where
Washington, D.C.
- Removal of presidential waiver authority from Title 10 for foreign warship purchases
- Extension of Pentagon authority to acquire auxiliary ships from allied shipyards
- Amendment barring authorized funding for American warships built in foreign yards
- Inclusion of language preventing appropriated funds for foreign shipbuilding
- Plans to pursue foreign designs for Navy frigates and destroyers
Congressional defense committees have voted to significantly limit the Trump administration's ability to purchase foreign-built warships by removing a key presidential waiver authority from Title 10 that allowed the commander-in-chief to invoke a broadly-defined "national security interest" exception for such acquisitions. The Senate Armed Services Committee's mark of the Fiscal Year 2027 defense policy bill eliminates this waiver, effectively blocking plans to pursue foreign designs for U.S. Navy frigates and destroyers from South Korean and Japanese shipyards that were included in the administration's budget proposal.
While restricting combat vessels, the legislation does extend Pentagon authority to acquire auxiliary ships—including tankers, bulk fuel vessels, and roll-on/roll-off ships—from allied shipyards under a framework similar to the Ice Pact cooperative agreement between the U.S., Finland, and Canada. Under this arrangement, foreign yards must be located in countries that are U.S. treaty allies. The Defense Secretary must report to congressional defense committees before issuing contracts, detailing acquisition plans by ship class, construction locations, and measures to protect classified and controlled unclassified information. Additionally, the secretary must determine that foreign construction would be faster than U.S. production, unless justified by readiness or force posture requirements.
The House has also moved to block the foreign shipbuilding initiative through separate measures. Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) successfully included an amendment in the House Armed Services Committee's draft bill barring authorized funding from contracts to purchase American warships built abroad. House appropriators separately included language in their defense spending bill preventing appropriated funds from supporting construction in foreign facilities and shipyards.
The restrictions reflect bipartisan and congressional opposition to the Trump administration's foreign shipbuilding plans. The Shipbuilders Council of America and Democratic lawmakers, particularly those representing districts with domestic shipyards such as General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine, have criticized the proposal. It remains unclear how the administration will respond to these multiple legislative provisions as they move through the appropriations and authorization process.
Why This Matters
This congressional action significantly constrains the Trump administration's ability to address U.S. Navy shipbuilding capacity constraints by restricting access to foreign production, particularly from allied nations with advanced capabilities. For defense contractors, policymakers, and taxpayers, this decision affects military readiness timelines, procurement costs, and the strategic calculus of leveraging allied industrial capacity—while protecting U.S. shipyard jobs in politically important districts.