The SteelNavy.Com Message Board: More on Byrnes-Tollefson

I ran a search on building USCG vessels in foreign yards, adding Byrnes-Tollefson to the search terms. I got an AI generated answer. I used to think those were great until outright errors showed up in a few answers given to me. Now, I don't trust them so much. However, FWIW, the overview states that the president has the authority to waive parts of this law, most particularly in allowing US vessels to be repaired in foreign yards, but also in other situations. The full AI generated response is this:

AI Overview

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The Tollefson-Byrnes Amendment generally prohibits the construction of US Navy and Coast Guard vessels in foreign shipyards, including the manufacturing of major components like hulls or superstructures. However, the Navy and Coast Guard can still use foreign shipyards for certain purposes, such as repairs, if the President waives the restrictions for national security reasons. Additionally, the law may not apply to all types of vessels, such as inflatable boats, but it does apply to rigid-hull inflatable boats.
Elaboration:
Tollefson-Byrnes Amendment:
This amendment, part of the appropriations process for the Navy, restricts the construction of naval vessels and their major components in foreign shipyards.
Coast Guard Vessels:
While the amendment primarily applies to Navy vessels, it's also relevant to the Coast Guard, as they also fall under the purview of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Exceptions and Waivers:
The President has the authority to waive the restrictions of the Tollefson-Byrnes Amendment for national security reasons. This allows the Navy and Coast Guard to utilize foreign shipyards in specific situations, such as when domestic shipbuilding capacity is insufficient or if foreign yards offer cost or technological advantages.
Vessel Types:
The GAO has clarified that the Tollefson-Byrnes Amendment generally applies to vessels with fixed and rigid hulls and superstructures, not inflatable or rigid-hull inflatable boats.
Current Debate:
There is ongoing debate and discussion regarding the Tollefson-Byrnes Amendment, particularly in the context of potential partnerships with allied nations for shipbuilding, as seen in the US Coast Guard's interest in Arctic security cutters from both domestic and foreign shipyards.

Also, in this article, about using Korean yards for our destroyers, is a paragraph stating that two senators have proposed changing the law:

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/business/companies/20250212/hd-hyundai-seen-as-main-beneficiary-of-us-bill-to-build-warships-in-allied-nations

"Such an optimistic outlook came as two U.S. Republican senators proposed bills on Feb. 5 to ease the Byrnes-Tollefson Amendment, which prohibits the construction of U.S. naval vessels and the manufacturing of major components on those ships in foreign shipyards."

Previous Message

Three articles on the subject:

First, last year was when talks started:

https://www.dhs.gov/archive/news/2024/11/13/united-states-canada-and-finland-sign-mou-build-arctic-and-polar-icebreakers

Now, this year, Finland is the front runner according to this:

https://maritime-executive.com/article/report-finland-is-frontrunner-negotiating-for-uscg-icebreaker-order

The above contains this cautionary paragraph:

"Yle cautions in its report that the negotiations do not guarantee a deal. It says the U.S. Coast Guard has approached several shipyards around the world to assess their capacity to deliver icebreakers within 36 months. However, it also quotes Foreign Minister Valtonen who said after meeting Rubio, "We will likely have concrete news fairly soon." "

Here is USNI coverage:

https://news.usni.org/2025/04/16/coast-guard-asking-u-s-foreign-yards-for-arctic-security-cutter-pitches

Finally, everyone should be aware of the Byrnes-Tollefson Amendment (aka the Tollefson-Byrnes Amendment) which is actually two amendments to laws governing the DOD passed in 1965 and 1968, and which prohibit US government vessels from construction in foreign yards. This issue I have also mentioned in more detail in this thread about South Korea possibly building destroyers for us;

https://members.boardhost.com/Warship/msg/1743958222.html

While the language being seen in most of the current articles seems to indicate the vessels would be built directly in foreign yards--in direct violation of our own law--earlier articles (from last year) indicated we were holding talks with many foreign yards about coming here and setting up yards in this country. If it did go that way, I am doubtful we'd get ships in 3 years. Might take that long just to create yards here. Other ideas are for us to just directly build a foreign design in our yards, likely supervised and assisted by individuals from the parent company coming here to supervise. Of course, we can also--through Congress--change our laws, and--through the administration--ignore our laws.

In any case, this whole direction is exciting to me, and I will watch with interest how it all works out in detail.

Previous Message

THERE HAS BEEN ANNEWS ITEM THET THE USCG is in talks with FINLAND for up to 5 icebreakers, presumably for delivery in less than the 7-10 years for the already 8 year old uscg project to be us built!