White House unveils blueprint to rebuild U.S. shipbuilding, cites “historic cooperation” with South Korea and Japan

[Financial News] The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump announced on the 13th (local time) an action plan to rebuild the country’s shipbuilding industry, explicitly stating its intention to cooperate with South Korea and Japan.
The White House on the 13th (local time) released the “U.S. Maritime Action Plan,” which lays out measures to restore U.S. shipbuilding capabilities.
In the 42-page action plan, the White House stated, "We must take steps to reduce dependence on unreliable suppliers through enhanced cooperation with allies and partners," adding, "We will continue the historic cooperation with South Korea and Japan to revitalize U.S. shipbuilding."
The plan also noted, "Close coordination with allies and partners will expand investment in the U.S. maritime sector," explaining that "to date, we have secured at least $150 billion in dedicated investment for the U.S. shipbuilding industry."
The “$150 billion investment” cited in the action plan is understood to refer to the portion earmarked for shipbuilding within the $350 billion in U.S.-bound investment that South Korea pledged under last year’s United States–Korea trade agreement. This dedicated $150 billion package is being framed as the Make American Shipbuilding Great Again (MASGA) project.
The plan also presented a “Bridge Strategy,” which outlines phased cooperation with foreign shipbuilders that have signed vessel sales contracts with U.S. counterparts. Under this strategy, foreign shipyards would make capital investments in U.S. shipyards—either by acquiring them or forming partnerships with U.S. shipbuilding companies—while initially building part of the contracted tonnage in their home countries until production in the United States becomes fully feasible.
If this strategy is implemented, South Korean shipbuilders would be able to manufacture part of their contracted volumes with the United States in South Korea. However, a key question will be how to navigate legal constraints under U.S. laws such as the Jones Act.
The Jones Act requires that vessels transporting passengers or goods between U.S. ports must be built in the United States, fly the U.S. flag, and be owned by U.S. citizens, who must hold at least a 75% ownership stake, among other conditions.
The action plan recommends imposing a universal port entry fee on all foreign-built commercial vessels calling at U.S. ports. This was put forward as a policy recommendation.
It further estimated that charging a fee of 1 cent per kilogram of cargo weight on foreign-built ships entering U.S. ports would raise about $66 billion over 10 years, while a 25-cent fee could generate roughly $1.5 trillion. The plan suggested that this revenue could be used to create a Maritime Security Trust Fund.
In addition, the action plan includes proposals to establish a “maritime prosperity zone” to spur investment in U.S. shipbuilding, to reform training and education for shipbuilding personnel, and to expand the U.S.-built and U.S.-flagged commercial fleet.



one1@fnnews.com Reporter Jung Won-il Reporter