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Against this background, the EIMS%u2019s commitment to assessing the need for a sector-specific instrument or targeted amendments to the EU%u2019s trade-policy toolbox is welcome. Still, it must be followed by rapid and concrete action. Especially in today%u2019s geopolitical context, ensuring fair competition is no longer only an industrial issue; more than ever before, it is a matter of economic security and strategic autonomy, which will also shape the future standing of European shipping globally. Today, decisions about ordering ships cannot rely solely on price considerations.Member States: Essential partnersAlthough this is a European strategy, industrial policy remains largely a Member State competence: Member States can tailor measures to their national industrial ecosystems, mobilise public investment, and support skills, infrastructure, and innovation at the local level. The use of revenues from shipping's inclusion in the EU Emissions Trading System for maritime industrial investments is a particularly relevant example. In this sense, Member States will be essential partners in the EIMS's future success. The planned high-level Maritime and Ports Board to monitor the implementation of the EIMS is therefore a positive initiative. Competitiveness and timing: Are we late, or just in time?A decade ago, European shipyards had largely disappeared from the political radar in Brussels. Today, the situation is fundamentally different. The EIMS enjoys clear political recognition and support at the EU level. In that sense, it has arrived at the right moment.However, political recognition alone will not secure competitiveness. The real test will be whether the EU is willing and able to deploy concrete instruments to address structural disadvantages, particularly in relation to international competition. The Strategy opens the door to such action; walking through that door is now imperative.Geopolitics and resilience: No time to loseThe current geopolitical environment only reinforces the urgency of implementation. Military tensions, disrupted supply chains, and growing global instability have exposed Europe%u2019s vulnerabilities. A resilient and competitive maritime sector, including the maritime manufacturing industry, is indispensable for Europe%u2019s security, energy transition, and economic sovereignty.There is no justification for delay. On the contrary, the current context demands acceleration. Every action announced in the Strategy %u2014 industrial alliances, lead market development, skills initiatives, financing tools, and trade policy adaptations %u2014 must now be implemented with speed and determination.Outlook: A promising but conditional futureThe EIMS provides a credible pathway to unlock new business opportunities across Europe; however, success will depend on three conditions: the rapid development of concrete business cases, the swift deployment of effective policy instruments, and a willingness within the sector to cooperate across value chains and borders. _The EIMS is not the end of the journey. It is the starting point. If Europe moves from words to action, it can secure a strong, competitive, resilient, and future-proof maritime manufacturing industry. If it hesitates, the window of opportunity may close fast.The European Industrial Maritime Strategy largely reflects the vision, ambition, and policy recommendations that the European maritime manufacturing industry has consistently put forward over recent years through SEA Europe.European maritime manufacturing industry296 NX