The Donald Trump U.S. administration announced the “America’s Maritime Action Plan (MAP),” a national strategy to rebuild the domestic shipbuilding industry. This is seen as laying the groundwork for the “MASGA (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again) Project,” which was proposed as a key collaborative initiative during U.S.-South Korea tariff negotiations.

In a report published on the White House website on the 13th, the U.S. government stated, “We will continue historic cooperation with South Korea and Japan to rebuild the American shipbuilding industry.” The strategy aims to simultaneously achieve two goals: countering China and restoring domestic shipbuilding capabilities, with technological and investment collaboration from allied South Korea and Japan as its core axis.

The report highlighted the “Bridge Strategy” as a key measure. Under this approach, initial contract volumes will be built in allied countries’ shipyards, while simultaneously investing capital or establishing partnerships in U.S. shipyards to eventually transfer construction processes to America. Since the U.S. currently lacks the capacity to build large vessels, it plans to utilize facilities in South Korea or Japan initially, in exchange for investments and technology transfers to American shipyards.

For South Korean companies, this creates an exceptional pathway to secure initial orders through domestic shipyards. Additionally, investments in U.S. shipyards will qualify them for financial guarantees and tax benefits.

The report also stated, “To date, President Trump has secured at least $150 billion in investments for the American shipbuilding industry.” This reflects the formal inclusion of the $150 billion investment pledge, finalized through the MASGA Project between South Korea and the U.S. last year, as a core funding source for the MAP.

However, the report includes provisions that could burden South Korean shipping and export companies. It proposes imposing a “universal fee” of 1 cent to a maximum of 25 cents per kilogram of imported cargo weight on all foreign-built commercial vessels entering U.S. ports, aiming to generate up to $1.5 trillion in funding. Additionally, an “Onshore Port Maintenance Tax” will be introduced, levying a 0.125% tax on indirect export routes via Canada or Mexico.

The plan also advances the “U.S. Maritime Priority Requirement (USMPR),” mandating that a certain percentage of container cargo bound for the U.S. be transported on American-flagged vessels, while increasing the share of government cargo carried by domestic ships. These measures aim to reduce reliance on foreign-built vessels, which currently handle the majority of maritime cargo entering the U.S., primarily from ships built in China, Japan, and South Korea. Analysts warn that such policies could erode South Korean shipping companies’ market share and raise logistics costs for domestic exporters.
Source: The Chosun Daily