Up to Two U.S. Warships Can Be Built in Home Countries... Will MASGA Gain Momentum?

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In the United States, there is a law mandating that warships must be built on U.S. soil. However, President Trump has decided to exempt foreign companies that invest in the U.S. shipbuilding industry from this obligation. As this could also apply to South Korean shipbuilders, it is interpreted as a green light for the MASGA project, a shipbuilding cooperation initiative between South Korea and the United States.

Reporter Kim Young-a has more.

[Reporter]

In a memorandum signed on the 13th local time, U.S. President Trump allowed foreign shipbuilding companies to build up to two U.S. warships in their home countries.

This applies exclusively to foreign companies that either build a new shipyard in the U.S. or secure ownership or a majority stake in an existing U.S. shipyard.

Trump also attached conditions stating that all vessels after the initial two must be built in the U.S. using American workers, and that technology must be transferred as well.

It is assessed that the only company in the world currently capable of meeting these conditions is South Korea's Hanwha Ocean, which acquired the Philly Shipyard in the U.S. in 2024.

The shipbuilding industry expects that various administrative procedures related to the Philly Shipyard will accelerate and order volumes will increase significantly.

Last month, President Trump publicly mentioned "South Korean companies" while emphasizing the strengthening of naval power.

[Trump / U.S. President (on the 15th of last month): We will look at companies from South Korea and other nations. We will also purchase ships built abroad.]

This move is driven by the urgent need to secure warships and rebuild the shipbuilding industry to check China, which is expanding its maritime hegemony by leveraging its status as the world's top shipbuilding nation.

The intention is to quickly build the initial batch in foreign countries equipped with skilled technology and infrastructure, and then rebuild the U.S. shipbuilding industry using the transferred technology.

The MASGA project, a $150 billion South Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation initiative, is expected to gain momentum.

The Presidential Office stated that it understands the U.S. administration is continuously pursuing concrete measures to rebuild the U.S. shipbuilding industry through this memorandum, adding that it looks forward to concretizing ways for cooperation.

[Video Editing: Chae Cheol-ho]
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.