American shipbuilders say they are ready to seize the moment, but experts warn that even a concerted effort to respond to China's overwhelming dominance of the sector will take years -- and cost many billions of dollars.
"This is a historic moment," said Matt Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), which represents more than 150 US shipbuilding companies.
The US Navy, when asked for comment, referred AFP to the White House.
"We are waiting to learn more," Cynthia Cook, who heads the defense-industrial group at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told AFP. "It is clear that shipbuilding is an industrial weakness of the United States."
But, she added: "You cannot immediately get more ships by throwing money at the problem."