July 29, 2025
SEOUL – Korea has proposed a multibillion-dollar project reportedly named Make American Shipbuilding Great Again, or MASGA, to the United States as Seoul makes an all-out effort to cut a better tariff deal with Washington ahead of the US-set deadline for tariff talks on Thursday, according to media reports on Monday.
Citing multiple unnamed sources, the reports said Kim Jung-kwan, Korea’s minister of trade, industry and energy, presented the MASGA project and Korea’s vision for shipbuilding cooperation with the US during ministerial-level talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in New York on Friday.
According to the reports, the MASGA proposal, named after US President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again,” offers a comprehensive package deal that includes large-scale investments in the US by Korean shipbuilders and financial support measures from the government such as loans and guarantees.
The reports said the Korean government is considering participation in the MASGA project by state-run financial institutions such as the Export-Import Bank of Korea and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation.
They added that Lutnick, who is considered a key figure in finalizing the US tariff deal with Korea, responded positively to the proposal.
However, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy later said in a press release that the reported details of the MASGA proposal have not been confirmed as the negotiations are still ongoing, advising media outlets to take a careful approach when reporting on the trade talks between Seoul and Washington.
In a press release on Saturday following the ministerial-level trade talks, Seoul’s presidential office said it had reconfirmed strong US interest in shipbuilding cooperation, explaining that the two sides committed to working together on an agreement in the tariff negotiations.
Korea’s shipbuilding sector has been regarded as the country’s unique leverage in the tariff talks with the US as its world-class capabilities can contribute to the Trump administration’s goal of reviving American shipbuilding.
Two of Korea’s leading shipbuilding conglomerates — HD Hyundai and Hanwha Group — have already been ramping up their investments in the US and bolstering partnerships with American companies in the shipbuilding sector.
HD Hyundai joined hands with US shipyard operator Edison Chouest Offshore to build medium-sized container vessels at the American company’s shipyard by 2028.
Hanwha Philly Shipyard, which was acquired by Hanwha Ocean and Hanwha System for $100 million last year, secured a contract to build a liquefied natural gas carrier, marking the first US-ordered, export-market-viable LNG carrier in nearly 50 years.
hwkan@heraldcorp.com