It has been confirmed that the White House has conveyed a position to the U.S. federal legislature recommending that two surface combatants and two non-combat support ships for the U.S. Navy be built at overseas shipyards.
While the possibility of building warships utilizing allies has been consistently raised, this is the first time the targets and scale of overseas construction have been explicitly specified in an official U.S. administration document.
According to the White House Office of Management and Budget's "Administration Policy Statement on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027," the White House proposed granting such authority to the Navy to resolve chronic construction backlogs at U.S. shipyards.
This policy statement is a document officially presenting key policies pursued by the U.S. administration for the legislature's deliberation on bills.
The policy statement was delivered to the U.S. Congress on July 21.
In particular, the White House suggested the so-called "Finland model" as an alternative, which involves quickly securing initial vessels overseas to fill capability gaps and subsequently bringing overseas shipyard technology and production methods to the U.S. to foster its domestic industry.
The Finland model was first applied to the U.S. Coast Guard's medium icebreaker program.
Observations suggest that South Korea's shipbuilding industry is a strong candidate for the orders.
President Trump mentioned shipbuilding cooperation with South Korea on the occasion of the South Korea-U.S. summit held in Washington in August of last year, and on July 15, he specifically singled out South Korea during the Defense Innovation Summit at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania, saying, "They are cooperating with us on ships."
However, for this plan to materialize, it must clear hurdles in the U.S. Congress.
In particular, the "Byrnes-Tollefson Act," which in principle bans the overseas construction of warships due to security concerns and domestic industry protection, stands as an obstacle.
Previously, the U.S. House of Representatives already passed the National Defense Authorization Act containing provisions banning the overseas construction of combat ships on July 22.
Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Jang Yujin | Graphics by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News
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