South Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation tied to Washington's China containment policy: official

Seoul, July 11 (IANS) The US has made South Korea's participation in its containment policy against China a prerequisite for bilateral cooperation in the shipbuilding sector, one of the key items in the two countries' ongoing trade negotiations, a Seoul official said Friday.

"The shipbuilding industry is one of the most notable areas where the US seeks cooperation with South Korea in terms of checking China," Chang Sung-gil, director general for trade policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said in a parliamentary forum on Seoul's negotiation strategy on tariff talks with the Donald Trump administration.

"Washington views China's shipbuilding industry as a growing threat and regards South Korea as a strategic partner to defend the American industry," he added. "The prerequisite for the shipbuilding cooperation is South Korea's participation in Washington's efforts to contain China."

Chang's remarks came as Seoul has been holding talks with the Trump administration on tariffs, non-tariff measures, industrial cooperation and other trade issues in a bid to get a full exemption or reductions in US reciprocal tariffs and sectoral duties on imported cars, steel and other products.

This week, Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo visited Washington to hold trade talks with US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other officials in the US government and Congress.

Upon his return home Thursday, Yeo told reporters he had proposed bilateral cooperation in manufacturing, particularly in the shipbuilding and semiconductor sectors, as a possible way to decrease South Korea's trade surplus with the US, reported Yonhap news agency.

Yeo's visit took place as the Seoul government enters the final three weeks of ongoing trade negotiations, after the Donald Trump administration said it would impose 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on Korean products beginning August 1.

Chang said the South Korean government was working to create a strategy on what kind of shipbuilding partnership it will forge with the US and how South Korean companies can get favourable treatment under the US bill aimed at fostering the growth of the American shipbuilding industry.

Regarding the auto industry, already hit by 25 per cent tariffs, Chang said the Trump administration called for measures to reduce South Korea's trade surplus with the US in the auto sector in order for Seoul to get lower tariff rates, noting that Washington views this matter "seriously."

Last year, South Korea's trade surplus with the US in the automotive sector came to US$32 billion, according to data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association.

"The US administration's baseline stance is we should invest more in the US and buy more American goods, including agricultural products and energy," Chang said.

--IANS

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