Sign In Newsletters Contact Us
American ShipperContainer ShippingMaritimeNewsTop Stories

South Korea offers billions to help make US shipbuilding ‘great again’

Seoul dangles multi-billion dollar partnership in U.S. trade talks

Stuart Chirls
·
(Photo: Hyundai Heavy Industries)
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • South Korea proposed a multi-billion dollar shipbuilding partnership with the U.S. ("Masga") to avoid potential 25% tariffs.
  • The partnership involves Korean investment in U.S. shipbuilding facilities and other financial support, aiming to boost U.S. shipbuilding.
  • This initiative comes as the U.S. seeks to counter China's dominance in shipping and shipbuilding.
  • Negotiations are ongoing, with a deadline of August 1st to avoid retaliatory tariffs; recent developments including the re-registration of a large container ship under the U.S. flag provide some positive momentum.
Key takeaways sponsored by SONAR
See a mistake? Contact us.

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.

Related coverage:

Houthis make new threats against Israel-linked shipping

Trade flows boost China, Europe ports while tariffs pain US gateways

CMA CGM container vessel becomes largest under U.S. flag

NATO warns ports vulnerable to ‘unprecedented’ cyber threats

Stuart Chirls

Stuart Chirls is a journalist who has covered the full breadth of railroads, intermodal, container shipping, ports, supply chain and logistics for Railway Age, the Journal of Commerce and IANA. He has also staffed at S&P, McGraw-Hill, United Business Media, Advance Media, Tribune Co., The New York Times Co., and worked in supply chain with BASF, the world's largest chemical producer. Reach him at stuartchirls@firecrown.com.