Donald Trump has announced most of his cabinet selection, bringing in expected names but also some whose potential impact and interest in shipping are unclear.
The US president-elect aims to name all cabinet posts by the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. With his party in control of the Senate, approval for many will face little resistance, although more controversial nominees are bracing for tough confirmation hearings.
Here are some of his choices that will have an impact on shipping:
Commerce secretary
Commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick is the most recognisable name in shipping circles, as the chairman and chief executive of investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and BGC Group, which controls ship and commodities brokers Poten & Partners and Oil Brokerage.
Lutnick’s biggest impact on commercial shipping may be his role in Trump’s tariff strategy.
The president-elect has given Lutnick an additional post overseeing the Office of the United States Trade Representative.
The cabinet-level post serves as the president’s primary adviser on tariffs, and Lutnick has been a supporter of Trump’s proposal for a 60% levy on Chinese imports.
But Lutnick’s tariff stance is more nuanced than Trump’s proposal for across-the-board levies of 10% to 20%.
“I think we should put tariffs on stuff we make and not put tariffs on stuff we don’t make,” Lutnick told CNBC in September.
“And, of course, it’s a bargaining chip. We can’t sell a Ford or GM in Europe. … Why? There’s a 100% tariff. How about in Japan? 100% tariffs.
“Do you think if we said, we’re going to tariff you the way you tariff us, do you think they’re going to allow Mercedes and all these Japanese companies and Porsches and BMWs to all of a sudden have 100% tariffs in America? Of course not, they’re going to come and negotiate.”
Lutnick’s appointment has drawn criticism from Democrats who question the Chinese business of Cantor and BCG.
But since Trump named him for the Commerce Department post, the 63-year-old businessman has pledged to step down from his company roles and divest his stake in BGC.
President Joe Biden’s recent tariffs on Chinese imports, such as a 100% levy on electric vehicles, were adopted by current US trade representative Katherine Tai.
Tai is leading an investigation into Chinese shipbuilding that some in the domestic maritime industry hope will result in a port fee.
The Commerce Department’s direct influence over shipping is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The agency’s involvement in the maritime sector includes providing marine navigation and weather data, setting regulations to protect whales from ship strikes and carrying out hydrographic surveys.
National security adviser
US-flag shipping proponents have looked to representative Michael Waltz, a Republican congressman from Florida, as a champion of rebuilding America’s merchant fleet and shipbuilding sector.
Waltz was expected by some to land in the defence department but instead, Trump appointed him as national security adviser.
Charlie Papavizas, a partner at law firm Winston & Strawn, said the nomination was a good thing for the industry.
“The national security adviser usually has a lot of access to the president and senior policymakers,” he said.
As a congressman, Waltz has worked across the aisle with Democratic senator Mark Kelly to propose the Ships for America Act, which aims to revitalise US-flag shipping and shipyards.
He also co-wrote the Congressional Guidance for a National Maritime Strategy, which called for investment in US shipping and shipbuilding capacity to confront China’s dominance.
“We must act now, before it is too late, and make a once-in-a-generation investment in the future of America’s maritime power,” Waltz said in the report.
The guidance was co-written by senator Marco Rubio, whom Trump has appointed secretary of state.
Secretary of transport
Trump has appointed Sean Duffy — former congressman from Wisconsin — as secretary of transport.
If confirmed by the Senate, the Fox News television personality who once starred in the reality show Real World, will preside over a transport portfolio that includes the US Maritime Administration and ports.
Trump said of the appointment, with his characteristic overuse of capital letters: “Sean will use his experience and the relationships he has built over many years in Congress to maintain and rebuild our Nation’s Infrastructure and fulfil our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation.”
Duffy is seen as a strong supporter of the airline industry, whose main trade group has applauded the nomination.
His stance on maritime is less clear, but American Association of Port Authorities chief executive Cary Davis voiced support.
“Based on his experience in Congress and a solid record of collaboration with his local ports, we are optimistic that Duffy understands how integral ports are to a strong and healthy national supply chain,” Davis said.
In 2016, Duffy considered proposing a suspension of the Jones Act — the cabotage law that requires US-built ships for domestic trades — for Puerto Rico, as part of a congressional task force on the island territory’s economy, but it was not included in the final report.
Interior secretary
Trump has named pro-oil North Dakota governor Doug Burgum as interior secretary.
He is widely expected to expand permitting for the drilling of oil and gas, which could help the tanker industry.
The appointment will leave Jones Act shipowners pursuing opportunities in the growing US offshore wind sector wondering whether Burgum will slow down permitting in that sector.
After all, Trump has accused offshore wind of killing whales and causing cancer.
In announcing the nomination, Trump said: “We will DRILL, BABY, DRILL, expand ALL forms of energy production to grow our economy, and create good-paying jobs.”
But Richard Kessler, North America editor at renewables news provider Recharge, focused on the word “all” in the president-elect’s statement.
“The US renewable energy industry will be hoping the ‘ALL’ is as significant as the first set of characteristic Trump capital letters,” he wrote.
Energy secretary
Another fossil fuels proponent is energy secretary nominee Chris Wright, chief executive of Liberty Energy, who has been a supporter of fracking and LNG exports.
But Trump mentioned in announcing the post that Wright has invested in clean energy, including solar and geothermal.
While Biden has put a moratorium on new US LNG export projects, Wright is expected to push such projects forward.
Ben Jealous, executive director of the Sierra Club environmental group, said Wright would be a “rubber stamp” for an LNG export build-out.
“He’s a direct threat to our future and the planet’s,” Jealous said, according to Politico’s E&E News service.
Secretary of state
Senator Marco Rubio, who has been nominated secretary of state, is seen as a foreign policy hawk, and he has voiced support for Ukraine, whose invasion by Russia has propped up energy shipping rates.
But his comments on Russia’s war with Ukraine suggest he supports Trump’s desire to end US military assistance and draw the conflict to an end.
He told NBC News in September that Trump would end the war with a “negotiated settlement” between the countries.
“We hope that when that time comes, there is more leverage on the Ukrainian side than on the Russian side,” he said on the network’s Meet the Press show.
Rubio favours a tough stance on Iran and Venezuela.
But like Trump, he has expressed some openness to a new nuclear deal with Tehran — theoretically. In the same Meet the Press interview, he said he saw such a deal as unlikely.
Secretary of defence
Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth, another Fox News television personality, for defence secretary is seen as more about loyalty to the president-elect than experience that would help him oversee the country’s sprawling military.
And his views on Ukraine take a back seat to what he sees as the threat that social issues pose to America’s military.
“What is happening in Ukraine is important,” he said on Fox News in 2022.
“But it pales in comparison to the crime I see in my streets, to the wokeness I see in my culture, to the inflation I see in my pocketbook, to the real border I care about, which is the southern border, which is wide open.”
During the Biden administration, the defence department has been involved in efforts to revitalise US shipping, shipbuilding and merchant marine workforce.
It is unclear whether that will continue under Hegseth’s leadership, although his nomination has been among the most controversial and he may face a difficult confirmation process in the Senate.
Homeland security secretary
Kristi Noem, the governor of landlocked South Dakota, who is Trump’s pick for the Department of Homeland Security, will oversee the US Coast Guard if confirmed.
But with her focus on immigration, there is little information to suggest what her approach to the agency will be.
Treasury secretary
In an appointment expected to soothe markets, Trump has named hedge fund executive Scott Bessent, founder and chief executive of Key Square Group, as Treasury secretary.
A TradeWinds review of the Connecticut firm’s holdings showed no investments in public shipping company, although earlier this year it disclosed stakes in drillship and rig owner Transocean, as well as investments in metals companies.
The fund is better known for making macro plays, including placing a bet on a Trump victory, which appears to have paid off.
Bessent, who would make history as the first openly gay Treasury secretary, is known to be a fan of gradual tariffs and tax cuts.
The Treasury department plays a key role in US sanctions, but Bessent’s view on the tool is less known. However, the Trump administration is widely expected to use sanctions to continue to pressure Iran.
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