'MASGA' gets boost with bipartisan U.S. bill to open market to allies

A bill has been introduced in the United States to amend the Jones Act — legislation originally designed to protect the U.S. shipbuilding industry — to allow allied countries, including Korea, to build and repair U.S. merchant vessels.

If passed, the measure is expected to give momentum to the “MASGA” project, a Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation model proposed by Seoul to the Donald Trump administration to “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again.”

Representatives Ed Case, Democrat of Hawaii, and James Moylan, Republican of Guam, introduced the Merchant Marine Allies Partnership Act on Aug. 1.

The bill would exempt allied shipyards from the current 50 percent import duty when carrying out vessel modifications. It would also grant allied shipping companies access to the U.S. maritime market and conditionally allow vessels built in allied countries to operate in U.S. coastal transport. A new shipping registry for allies would be created for countries with which the United States has alliances.

The bipartisan proposal stems from criticism that the Jones Act, enacted in 1920, has actually contributed to the decline of U.S. shipbuilding. The law requires vessels engaged in domestic U.S. trade to be built in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens and operate with a U.S. crew, creating a monopoly that drives up shipping costs.

Case said in a press release that shipping companies exploit loopholes in the law by outsourcing major ship components and modifications to foreign shipyards — particularly in China — while avoiding the 50 percent import duty on foreign-repaired vessels. Calling the issue “a significant and immediate national security concern,” he said it would be preferable for such work to be done in allied shipyards in countries like Korea and Japan. According to Case, fewer than 100 vessels in the United States are fully compliant with the Jones Act.

If an exception to the century-old law is enacted, Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation — currently limited to maintenance, repair and overhaul of naval vessels — could expand into merchant ship construction and repair. Since U.S. shipping companies could operate ships built or modified in Korean yards on domestic routes, the MASGA project would likely gain traction.

However, observers note that past efforts to loosen or repeal the Jones Act have failed, and the bill’s ultimate passage remains uncertain.

Translated from JoongAng Sunday using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY WI MOON-HEE [[email protected]]