South Korea is proposing a massive shipbuilding partnership with the United States in an effort to avoid 25% tariffs in current trade negotiations.
Seoul is marketing the multi-billion dollar proposal as Making American Shipbuilding Great Again (Masga), according to the Yonhap news agency, which did not provide further details.
The Trump administration earlier this year announced initiatives to revitalize U.S.-flag shipping and shipbuilding as a means to counter China’s dominance of both sectors.
South Korea is the second-largest shipbuilder behind China, which claims more than half of the current global orderbook.
The program would include investment in U.S. facilities worth trillions of won by Korean shipbuilders, along with other financial support.
South Korea’s presidential office confirmed the offer in a statement to Reuters on Saturday.
Questions have been raised about the U.S. maritime push after the departure, along with other staffers, of the head of a newly-created White House office overseeing those efforts, and its relocation to the Office of Management and Budget.
The initiative did get a boost this past week when CMA CGM of France re-registered a 9,300-TEU container ship, making it the largest merchant vessel sailing under the U.S. flag.
While Japan and the European Union have reached trade deals with the U.S., political infighting in Seoul has stalled progress on an agreement for Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
Negotiators from the U.S, and South Korea are scheduled to meet this week in an effort to reach an accord before retaliatory tariffs take effect August 1.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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