BUILD with Allies Act of 2026

(a) In general. The President, in coordination with other relevant agencies and departments, shall engage allied countries to develop a shared framework to enhance collective capacity to design, produce, and maintain military and civilian ships, through—

(1) enhancing information exchange between such countries regarding such design, production, and maintenance;

(2) expanding procompetitive industrial collaboration with respect to such ships;

(3) strengthening the marine industries and the shipbuilding industries in allied countries; and

(4) encouraging the observance of counterintelligence best practices and information sharing amongst participating national defense and security services.

(b) Elements. The framework required in subsection (a) shall include—

(1) the establishment of a mechanism to—

(A) ensure countries participating in the framework can access reciprocal ports and shipping support during crises and conflicts;

(B) co-develop best-in-class design principles for the construction of ships;

(C) collaborate on the construction, repair, interoperability, and other capabilities of new ships to reduce costs;

(D) establish guiding principles for production line sequencing and supply chain management;

(E) coordinate Cabinet or Minister-level recommendations to drive down the production costs of ships and accelerate the delivery of ships, consistent with relevant laws in the relevant countries;

(F) establish a process for determining specific ship types or industry niches that are best suited for allied cooperation; and

(G) develop a mechanism to incentivize financial investments from foreign sources and remove barriers to foreign direct investment in shipbuilding;

(2) the establishment of a joint workforce-development program between participating shipyards and partner networks engaged in the production of ships for the purpose of training, information sharing, and the exchange of technical advisors;

(3) the establishment of a mechanism to develop and share research and development and leverage innovation to promote sustainability and mutual benefit;

(4) an agreement among countries participating in the framework to procure ships and ship components from shipyards identified by the participants as shipyards with specialized capabilities and experience in ship production; and

(5) an agreement among countries participating in the framework to prevent leakage of dual-use technologies to companies connected to the military of the People’s Republic of China.