CMA CGM promises Trump US$20Bn in investment, US-flagged fleet expansion

CMA CGM has committed to invest US$20Bn over four years, saying the money will be used to bolster the US maritime economy and support the transformation of America’s domestic supply chain.

In a statement on the deal, CMA CGM majority stakeholder, chairman and chief executive Rodolphe Saadé said the investment package would "significantly grow our US-flagged fleet, expand the capacity of key container ports on both coasts, develop state-of-the-art warehousing across the country, and establish a significant air cargo hub in Chicago".

During a clip of the meeting published on social media platform X, President Trump asked Mr Saadé, "Why is it that more people [shipowners] don’t have American flags [US-flagged vessels]? They seem to have Panamanian flags and Liberian flags." 

The CMA CGM chairman responded, "You will have more ships with US flags as we move forward, and you can count on us to do as much as we can."

To which, President Trump said other countries take advantage of the US "even on that," meaning flagging of vessels, claimed the administration would "be changing that around," and thanked Mr Saadé for "even bringing it to our attention".

Mr Saadé said the CMA CGM investment package would result in the creation of 10,000 jobs in the US, 400 new and expanded warehouses in the US and an expanded fleet of 30 US-flagged vessels.

American President Lines, a small, US-flagged, container shipping specialist operator that works primarily with the US government and US military on national defense support projects, currently lists 10 vessels in its US-flagged fleet, ranging in capacity from 1,700 TEU to 5,500 TEU.

"American President Lines prides itself on being the mission-critical link for many US government efforts worldwide," the company says on its website.