U.S. senator highlights Korea’s capital, expertise in rebuilding shipbuilding industry
Published: 01 May. 2025, 11:34
![HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' Ulsan shipyard [HD HEAVY INDUSTRIES]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/05/01/c65be6fd-7621-4fa2-a756-3a32a2b84dd4.jpg)
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' Ulsan shipyard [HD HEAVY INDUSTRIES]
A U.S. senator said Wednesday that Korea and other allies can help revitalize America's shipbuilding industry with its capital and expertise, as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is looking to deepen cooperation with the allies in the sector.
Republican Sen. Todd Young from Indiana made the remarks during a forum hosted by the Washington-based Hudson Institute, noting that the CHIPS and Science Act can serve as a "model" for collaboration with allies to help rebuild the U.S. shipbuilding sector.
Shipbuilding cooperation with allies has emerged as a crucial policy issue for the Trump administration as China's overwhelming production capacity has created a sense of urgency. China is known to have over 230 times the shipbuilding capacity of the United States.
"A number of our allies, South Koreans in particular ... I've had several direct conversations with them, some with the Japanese," Young said. "They have capital, looking for opportunities here because of their core competencies in shipbuilding."
The senator then pointed to the CHIPS Act as a "model" for shipbuilding cooperation. Signed by former U.S. President Joe Biden in 2022, the law has secured investments from Korea and other partner countries through incentives designed to create jobs and strengthen domestic manufacturing.
"We have a model in the CHIPS Act, in which this sort of partnership has occurred. We need to build on that success," he said.
"After the capital is deployed and these shared investments are made, we need to invite in expertise so [that] we can relearn certain skill sets."
Bilateral cooperation can also involve the United States' technology, the senator said.
"This is going to be a value proposition, not just in terms of the ROI for our foreign allies and the security benefits of a closer partnership, but also the technological ... I mean we have advances. We have things to bring to bear," he said. ROI is short for return on investment.
"We have our tech community, which can bring their expertise and their creativity to some of these processes and activities as well. So the Koreans, in particular, are excited about that, about modernizing their own operations as they locate here."
Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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