- South Korea and the US to begin shipbuilding partnership in the second half of this year.
- Cooperation includes naval vessel repair and joint supply chain development.
- Alliance aims to reduce reliance on China in global shipbuilding.
The South Korean government has declared that its partnership with the US in shipbuilding will officially begin in the second half of this year. The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy convened a meeting with shipbuilders and equipment manufacturers, underscoring the significance of “real growth,” where the complete South Korean shipbuilding ecosystem, including large shipbuilders, small shipyards, and equipment manufacturers, develops collectively.
Park Dong-il, the ministry’s director general for manufacturing industry, said, “In the second half of the year, we will promote important policies, such as earnest promotion of Korea-US shipbuilding co-operation, preparation of measures for shipbuilding-related materials, parts and equipment, and a strategy for a new growth driver to succeed LNG carriers.”
Industry stakeholders anticipated that bilateral collaboration, encompassing the maintenance, repair, and overhaul of US naval vessels, along with supply chain cooperation, would advance swiftly, benefiting the entire sector, including equipment producers. In the meantime, the possible shipbuilding collaboration between the two nations will be based on South Korea collaborating with the US to challenge China in the shipbuilding industry.
Chang Sung-gil, director general for trade policy of the ministry, said, “Shipbuilding is a prime example of an area where we are being asked to co-operate with the US as a check on China.
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“The US has a sense of crisis over China’s shipbuilding industry and views us as a strategic defence partner in this regard. During the shipbuilding collaboration, the US may ask us to work together to counter China, for example by refraining from using Chinese materials in shipbuilding.
“It’s a shipbuilding co-operation with that [participation in countering China] attached to it, it’s not a separate concept of shipbuilding co-operation. So, we’re trying to figure out how to co-operate on shipbuilding within the overall picture and how to circumvent or exempt the Jones Act.”
With US President Donald Trump establishing a deadline for next month to implement reciprocal tariffs, South Korea is advocating for an agreement that would result in reduced tariffs in return for its investment in revitalizing US manufacturing in competitive sectors like shipbuilding and the semiconductor industry. This method is referred to as the ‘ships and chips’ strategy.