China sanctions on Hanwha threaten South Korea-US shipbuilding ties, officials say

Reuters:

SEOUL, Oct 17 – China’s sanctions on U.S.-linked units of shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean threaten to impact ambitious plans for shipbuilding cooperation between Seoul and Washington by disrupting supplies of Chinese equipment and materials, officials in Seoul said on Friday.

Beijing announced the sanctions on Tuesday as the U.S. and China began charging additional port fees on each other’s vessels, in the latest exchange in a protracted trade war ahead of a planned meeting of the two countries’ leaders.

South Korea has vowed to “Make America Shipbuilding Great Again” with a pledge of $150 billion of investment in the sector to help U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to revitalise American shipbuilding to catch up with China’s.

The decline of the U.S. shipbuilding sector and the industries needed to support it made it impossible to supply materials and parts from within the U.S., officials in Seoul said.

“There is bound to be an impact,” South Korea’s Minister of Defense Procurement Program Administration Seok Jong-gun said.

“I don’t see how we can make all the materials and supplies for Philly Shipyard within the U.S.,” Seok said in a parliamentary hearing on Friday.