Different nations have been famous for their shipbuilding over the centuries, but modern industrial shipbuilding has suffered in those nations with high labour costs where government subsidies have been removed. A decline has occurred in shipbuilding over the past 50 years across Europe, but it still remains a dynamic centre for commercial shipbuilding, with around 150 large shipyards employing around 120,000 people in the EU. Europe maintains around 6% of the market share in terms of tonnage, with the industry remaining important in a number of countries, contributing to regional industrial infrastructures as well as national defence and security interests. Shipbuilding across Europe primarily focusses on the building of complex vessels including cruise ships, ferries, luxury yachts and naval vessels. In the United States, the Jones Act was introduced, placing restrictions on the ships that can be used to move domestic cargo. This has offered some protection for merchant shipbuilding in the U.S., although contract prices remain high, especially when compared to the competition in Japan, China and South Korea. China, Japan and South Korea were the major shipbuilding nations in 2019, with China, for example, completing 22.3 million gross tonnes of ships that year. These nations remain the leading countries for today’s global shipbuilding output.