South Korea's Proposal To Win Over Trump: 'make America Shipbuilding Great Again'

HONG KONG — One of nan United States’ strongest friends successful Asia, South Korea has had a unsmooth commencement pinch President Donald Trump — struggling successful tariff talks arsenic it spent months without a imperishable leader.

But its caller president, Lee Jae-myung, has arrived for a gathering pinch Trump connected Monday touting a $150 cardinal offering whose sanction is judge to entreaty to nan U.S. leader: “Make America Shipbuilding Great Again.”

The package, which South Korean officials besides mention to arsenic MASGA, includes nan building of caller U.S. shipyards, nan training of shipbuilding unit and U.S. Navy vessel maintenance.

It’s a cardinal portion of nan last-minute waste and acquisition deal South Korea struck past period pinch Trump, who says he wants to revitalize U.S. shipbuilding for some economical and nationalist information reasons. Trade and information will beryllium precocious connected nan schedule astatine his acme pinch Lee, which comes amid increasing tensions pinch China and North Korea.

After decades of manufacture decline, nan U.S. now accounts for little than 1% of nan world shipbuilding sector, according to nan Rand nationalist information deliberation tank, compared pinch 50% for China, 30% for South Korea and 10% for Japan. South Korean equipment, designs and knowledge could thief put nan U.S. backmost connected nan map.

On Tuesday, Lee and perchance Trump will sojourn a Philadelphia shipyard acquired past twelvemonth by nan South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group.

The shipbuilding inaugural is “a strategical and symbolic win” for South Korea arsenic good arsenic nan U.S., said Eun A Jo, a postdoctoral chap astatine nan Dickey Center for International Understanding astatine Dartmouth College.

“I deliberation it’s a smart move to effort and unafraid power successful a captious American sector, while astatine nan aforesaid clip countering Chinese description successful world maritime infrastructure,” she told NBC News successful a telephone question and reply Sunday.

No 'bromance' expected

The White House acme is an important opportunity for Lee to advocator South Korea’s interests pinch Trump aft months of governmental instability created by erstwhile President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched declaration of martial law.

Though Lee comes from a wide party, he and Trump stock overmuch successful communal — some person been nan subjects of assassination attempts, and some are much unfastened to diplomacy pinch nuclear-armed North Korea than their predecessors.

But they person very different outlooks connected political, economical and overseas policy, which could make nan acme challenging, said Bae Jong-chan, president of Insight K, a backstage deliberation vessel successful Seoul.

“One will not beryllium capable to expect bromance betwixt President Lee and President Trump,” he said successful a telephone question and reply Monday.

The narration has already been strained by Trump’s tariffs connected South Korea, nan world’s 10th-largest economy, which has a ample waste and acquisition surplus pinch nan U.S.

Trump said past period that nan U.S. tariff connected South Korean imports would beryllium 15%, down from nan 25% he had threatened earlier. He said South Korea, which does not enforce immoderate tariffs connected U.S. goods, managed to “buy down” nan U.S. tariff by promising $450 cardinal successful U.S. finance and power purchases, including nan $150 cardinal shipbuilding fund.

Jo said Lee is seeking to fastener successful nan position favorable to South Korea successful nan waste and acquisition deal, which remains unwritten and mostly unclear.

“I deliberation he wants that to beryllium patient and solid, to person astatine slightest immoderate consciousness of predictability and stableness successful their economical relations,” she said.

More tricky are questions astir South Korea’s longstanding information confederation pinch nan U.S. and its position connected China.

Trump wants South Korea to return much work for its ain defense, freeing up nan almost 30,000 U.S. work members stationed location to attraction much connected containing China, Washington’s biggest strategical rival.

South Korea worries that specified a displacement could time off it much exposed to threats from North Korea, arsenic good arsenic summation nan chances it could beryllium drawn into a imaginable U.S.-China conflict complete Taiwan, nan land populist Beijing claims arsenic its territory.

Though Lee powerfully supports nan decades-old U.S.-South Korea alliance, he besides has to equilibrium relations pinch China, South Korea’s main trading partner.

On Sunday, a typical envoy told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi successful Beijing that South Korea hopes to normalize relations pinch China aft years of tension.

Lee has agelong been vocal astir his reluctance to return sides betwixt nan U.S. and China, and his pragmatic attack to South Korea-China relations “is improbable to beryllium comfortably pinch President Trump,” Bae said.

Lee makes U.S. his 2nd stop

Before heading to Washington, Lee stopped successful Tokyo for a acme pinch Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba successful his first overseas sojourn since being elected president successful June.

“That was a very deliberate and strategical move,” Jo said, arsenic nan 2 U.S. friends activity leverage to protect themselves from Trump’s vicissitudes.

On his formation from Tokyo to Washington connected Sunday, Lee told reporters he had asked Ishiba for specifications connected Japan’s negotiations pinch nan U.S., and that Ishiba had fixed “a batch of very friends advice.”

Lee and Ishiba, whose countries person historically been astatine odds, agreed astatine their acme to amended bilateral ties truthful they tin amended coordinate pinch nan U.S. against China and North Korea.

Despite liking from Washington and Seoul, North Korea has dismissed nan thought of further denuclearization talks, saying Trump must accept it arsenic a atomic power. The Trump-Lee acme comes arsenic nan U.S. and South Korean militaries are holding yearly associated exercises that North Korea condemns arsenic a rehearsal for invasion.

Bae said Lee is “likely to locomotion distant from nan acme pinch elaborate homework” connected North Korea, tariffs, subject cost-sharing and nan domiciled of U.S. troops successful South Korea, among different issues.

If he “fails to present arsenic President Trump sees fit,” Trump whitethorn protestation by skipping nan Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering South Korea is hosting this fall.

“MASGA cannot screen everything for President Lee successful dealing pinch President Trump,” Bae said.

Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong, and Stella Kim from Los Angeles.