South Korean government official Sung Gil Chang stated in a Yonhap News article that US President Trump has expressed positive intentions for cooperation with South Korea in the shipbuilding sector, but only on the condition that Korea participates in America’s strategy to contain China.
Chang is the Director-General for Trade Policy Coordination at South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. He made these remarks during a parliamentary discussion on trade negotiations. He explained that the US has proposed that Korea-US cooperation should be built on the foundation of jointly containing China, with shipbuilding being the most representative sector for such collaboration.
According to Chang, the United States feels a sense of crisis regarding China’s shipbuilding industry development and views South Korea as a strategic partner to jointly counter Chinese shipbuilding capabilities. In advancing Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation, the US may require Korean companies to reduce their use of Chinese materials and components to achieve the goal of containing China.
Chang emphasized that this cooperation is not merely industrial-level collaboration but rather an integrated cooperation framework with the prerequisite of “jointly balancing China.” The government is studying specific cooperation plans from an overall strategic perspective, including how to circumvent or obtain exemptions from the Jones Act.
Regarding automotive trade issues, Chang noted that the US considers Korea’s automotive export surplus to America as one of the most pressing problems to resolve. The US has clearly stated that without improvement in this area, it will not consider reducing or eliminating tariffs.
The US position fundamentally demands that Korea increase investments in America and purchase more American goods, particularly energy and agricultural products. Currently, the US is strongly demanding expanded procurement from America while proposing this as a condition for mutual tariff reductions and adjustments on specific items.
Source: Yonhap News Agency, July 11, 2025
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