"Trump Administration Shows Great Interest in Korean Shipbuilding"
Anduk Geun, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, stated on the 9th that "the shipbuilding sector is a very important card in the tariff negotiations with the United States."
Minister Ahn appeared at the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, and Small and Medium Enterprises Committee that day and said regarding the response to the U.S. reciprocal tariff measures, "The Trump administration is showing great interest in Korea-U.S. cooperation in shipbuilding."
He continued, "Since the U.S. shipbuilding industry's capabilities have been declining since World War II, they have high expectations for Korea's shipbuilding technology and manufacturing capabilities," emphasizing, "From a security perspective, we are trusted as a strong ally."
Regarding the suggestion to expand from Korea winning the U.S. Navy non-combat vessel maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) project to combat vessel MRO, he said, "The White House has formed a task force related to the shipbuilding industry and is consulting with us, and the U.S. is very interested in this field." He added, "Military ship-related projects require legislative reorganization, so it is difficult to push forward urgently, but we will continue to consult."
When asked whether it is necessary to maintain the Korea-U.S. FTA amid the U.S. imposing a 25% reciprocal tariff on Korea, Minister Ahn replied, "The FTA must be maintained." He explained, "Although the U.S. imposed a 25% tariff on automobiles, thanks to the FTA, Korea's tariff base is zero, so it effectively bears only 25%. Japan and the European Union (EU), without FTAs, bear 27.5%."
Regarding criticism that the government's trade surplus with the U.S. provided a pretext for the U.S. to impose tariffs, he clarified, "Japan's tariff is 24%, 1% lower than Korea's, but Japan's trade dependency is less than 40%. Korea has an export-oriented industrial structure, so the situation is different."
He added, "Since Acting President Han Duck-soo spoke with the U.S. side, positive signals have emerged," and stated, "I plan to visit the U.S. soon to understand the contents of consultations by the head of the trade bureau and analyze them across ministries."
Regarding the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which President Trump emphasized Korea's participation in, he said, "It is not a confirmed matter," and added, "We will discuss with the U.S. about the feasibility and cooperation methods."
Minister Ahn emphasized, "Korea has faced numerous difficulties in trade but has never lost in war," and concluded, "We will definitely win this time as well."
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