On the 16th, Chung Ki-sun, the vice chairman of HD Hyundai, met with Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative, during his visit to South Korea. This is the first time a person from the domestic shipbuilding industry has had an official meeting with the U.S. Trade Representative.
HD Hyundai announced that Vice Chairman Chung met with Representative Greer on the morning of that day to discuss cooperation in the shipbuilding sector between the two countries in Jeju. Representative Greer arrived to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting on Trade held at the International Convention Center Jeju since the previous day.
During the meeting, Vice Chairman Chung introduced collaboration examples between HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Huntington Ingalls, a U.S. defense shipbuilding company, and proposed joint technology development, shipbuilding cooperation, and training of technical personnel. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Huntington Ingalls are in a partnership for naval vessels. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding in April to pool their capabilities for improving ship production efficiency and collaborating on advanced shipbuilding technologies.
Vice Chairman Chung emphasized the crane manufacturing capabilities of HD Hyundai Samho, a subsidiary of HD Hyundai, regarding the monopoly issue of Chinese-manufactured port cranes in the U.S. He suggested that there is potential to strengthen cooperation through expanding supply chains in the U.S. Vice Chairman Chung noted, "I highly appreciate the commitment and efforts to rebuild the U.S. shipbuilding industry," and added, "We will participate if there is a necessary role, as we have made all the preparations."
On that afternoon, USTR Representative Greer is scheduled to meet with Kim Hee-cheol, the representative of Hanwha Ocean, a leader in the domestic special ship sector, following his visit to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. It is reported that the U.S. side requested separate meetings with the two companies before Representative Greer's visit. Attention is drawn to whether the meeting between the domestic shipbuilding industry and Representative Greer will have a positive impact on the trade consultations between Representative Greer and Ahn Duk-geun, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy.