Korean port cranes emerge as bargaining chip in US tariff talks
Port cranes have surfaced as Korea's next bargaining chip in tariff negotiations with the United States in the wake of the Trump administration's efforts to phase out made-in-China cranes at US ports.
The US Trade Representative announced a plan last month to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on ship-to-shore, or STS, cranes and cargo handling equipment made in China or built using Chinese parts, emphasizing the need to reduce America's reliance on Chinese maritime infrastructure and address national security concerns.
According to a report by the US Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry, or ZPMC, the world's largest STS crane manufacturer, run by the Chinese government, accounts for almost 80 percent of the STS cranes used at US ports. The report added that there were no domestic manufacturing alternatives for STS cranes in the US.
The US has openly mentioned Korea's shipbuilding sector as an area where it seeks cooperation while it continues to push for the revitalization of its own shipbuilding industry. On top of the shipbuilding sector, Korea is poised to support the Trump administration's 'Make America Great Again' agenda with US domestic port crane manufacturers.
To this end, HD Hyundai, which operates the world's largest single shipyard at its HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' Ulsan site and boasts significant crane manufacturing capacity, has emerged as a key player.
HD Hyundai Vice Chairman Chung Ki-sun discussed affiliate HD Hyundai Samho's crane manufacturing capabilities with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Korea's Jeju Island last week. According to HD Hyundai, Chung specifically talked about the dominance of Chinese port cranes in the US and proposed strengthening cooperation between Korea and the US to expand related supply chains in the US.
'The US certainly appears to be interested in Korea's crane manufacturing capabilities,' said an industry official. 'We think there is a good chance of port cranes being on the table for the tariff negotiations.'
In addition to the STS cranes, HD Hyundai Samho is capable of producing rubber-tired and rail-mounted gantry cranes. The crane manufacturer has scored a series of crane orders at Korean ports, including a 179.6 billion won ($129.5 million) deal in Busan last year and a 206 billion won contract in Gwangyang this year. HD Hyundai Samho, which accounted for about 3.6 percent of the global port crane market share in 2023, is considering expanding production capacities in the future to bolster its global presence.
Doosan Enerbility has been ramping up its port crane business activities in Vietnam through its local office, Doosan Vina. As of May last year, Doosan Vina had produced 132 cranes for various port operators in India, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam.
HJ Heavy Industries scored a 187 billion won contract to supply 34 cranes to the Busan New Port last year. The shipbuilder and crane manufacturer is also exploring entry into the US market.
Industry watchers have raised the possibility of Korean companies setting up a complete knockdown, or CKD, site in the US to deliver unassembled parts and make the final product there, as establishing a new manufacturing plant in the US might be too costly in the beginning. Paceco, a US subsidiary of Japanese manufacturing conglomerate Mitsui E&S, secured an order to supply eight cranes for the Port of Long Beach in California last year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
2 hours ago
- Korea Herald
S. Korean presidential office downplays foreign minister's China remarks
President Lee Jae Myung's office on Tuesday downplayed Foreign Minister Cho Hyun's remarks about China in a recent media interview. In a note to reporters, the presidential office said Cho's remarks were meant to deliver his intention to "continue to foster a relationship between South Korea and China to contribute to people's economic well-being, regional stability and prosperity, despite some differences over some issues between the two countries." The presidential office also noted that it would seek to develop the relationship between South Korea and China, on the foundation of the strong alliance between South Korea and the United States. This follows a comment by Cho in his interview with The Washington Post on Sunday. Cho said, "In Northeast Asia, we have another problem of China becoming somewhat problematic with its neighbors. We have seen what China has been doing in the South China Sea and in the Yellow Sea." He was responding to a question about how to navigate geopolitical challenges in South Korea's neighborhood. Cho also said, "We have become rather alert to China's rise and its challenges," adding the country hoped to see China "abide by international law in not only bilateral, but in regional affairs," when asked about Seoul's approach to Beijing. Cho's remarks prompted a response from the Chinese Embassy to South Korea, which said that China has a"good" relationship with all of its neighbors, and that most countries were prioritizing friendly cooperation with China. Meanwhile, South Korea's presidential office also noted that Cho had raised "a need for relevant countries to engage with China." This apparently echoed Cho's remarks during his meeting with his counterparts in Japan and the United States that he "noted the need for engaging China, because simply trying to block China will not be as effective as we want."
Korea Herald
2 hours ago
- Korea Herald
US to require up to $15,000 bonds for some tourists
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The US could require bonds of up to $15,000 for some tourist and business visas under a pilot program launching in two weeks, a government notice said on Monday, an effort that aims to crack down on visitors who overstay their visas. The program gives US consular officers the discretion to impose bonds on visitors from countries with high rates of visa overstays, according to a Federal Register notice. Bonds could also be applied to people coming from countries where screening and vetting information is deemed insufficient, the notice said. President Donald Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration a focus of his presidency, boosting resources to secure the border and arresting people in the US illegally. He issued a travel ban in June that fully or partially blocks citizens of 19 nations from entering the US on national security grounds. Trump's immigration policies have led some visitors to skip travel to the United States. Transatlantic airfares dropped to rates last seen before the COVID-19 pandemic in May and travel from Canada and Mexico to the US fell by 20 percent year-over-year. Effective Aug. 20, the new visa program will last for approximately a year, the government notice said. Consular officers will have three options for visa applicants subjected to the bonds: $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000, but will generally be expected to require at least $10,000, it said. The funds will be returned to travelers if they depart in accordance with the terms of their visas, the notice said. A similar pilot program was launched in November 2020 during the last months of Trump's first term in office, but it was not fully implemented due to the drop in global travel associated with the pandemic, the notice said. A State Department spokesperson listed the criteria that will be used to identify the countries that will be affected, adding that the country list may be updated. "Countries will be identified based on high overstay rates, screening and vetting deficiencies, concerns regarding acquisition of citizenship by investment without a residency requirement, and foreign policy considerations," the spokesperson said. The State Department was unable to estimate the number of visa applicants who could be affected by the change. Many of the countries targeted by Trump's travel ban also have high rates of visa overstays, including Chad, Eritrea, Haiti, Myanmar and Yemen. US Travel Association, which represents major tourism-related companies, estimated the "scope of the visa bond pilot program appears to be limited, with an estimated 2,000 applicants affected, most likely from only a few countries with relatively low travel volume to the United States." Numerous countries in Africa, including Burundi, Djibouti and Togo also had high overstay rates, according to US Customs and Border Protection data from fiscal year 2023. A provision in a sweeping spending package passed in the Republican-controlled US Congress in July also created a $250 "visa integrity fee" for anyone approved for a non-immigrant visa that could potentially be reimbursable for those who comply with visa rules. The $250 fee goes into effect on Oct. 1. US Travel said that fee could hinder travel and said "if implemented, the US will have one of, if not the highest, visitor visa fees in the world." "They are both causing disease, death and disability today in tens of thousands of people, and these harms will become more severe in the years ahead as the planet continues to warm and plastic production continues to increase," he said. The report also announced a new effort to track the impact plastic pollution has on health, the latest in a series called The Lancet Countdown.
Korea Herald
2 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Trump's deadline for the Kremlin looms but Putin shows no sign of making concessions
The coming week could mark a pivotal moment in the war between Russia and Ukraine, as US President Donald Trump's deadline for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal approaches — or it could quietly pass without consequence. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected in Moscow midweek, just before Trump's Friday deadline for the Kremlin to stop the killing or face potentially severe economic penalties from Washington. So far Trump's promises, threats and cajoling have failed to shift the Kremlin's position, and the stubborn diplomatic stalemate remains in place. Meanwhile, Ukraine is losing more territory on the front line, although there is no sign of a looming collapse of its defenses. Witkoff is expected to land in the Russian capital on Wednesday or Thursday, according to Trump, following his trip to Israel and Gaza. 'They would like to see (Witkoff),' Trump said Sunday of the Russians. 'They've asked that he meet so we'll see what happens.' Trump, exasperated that Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn't heeded his calls to stop bombing Ukrainian cities, a week ago moved up his ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia as well as introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil, including China and India. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday that officials are happy to meet with Trump's envoy. 'We are always glad to see Mr. Witkoff in Moscow,' he said. 'We consider (talks with Witkoff) important, substantive and very useful.' Trump said Sunday that Russia has proven to be 'pretty good at avoiding sanctions.' 'They're wily characters,' he said of the Russians. The Kremlin has insisted that international sanctions imposed since its February 2022 invasion of its neighbor have had a limited impact. Ukraine insists the sanctions are taking their toll on Moscow's war machine and wants Western allies to ramp them up. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday urged the US, Europe and other nations to impose stronger secondary sanctions on Moscow's energy, trade and banking sectors. Trump's comments appeared to signal he doesn't have much hope that sanctions will force Putin's hand. The secondary sanctions also complicate Washington's relations with China and India, who stand accused of helping finance Russia's war effort by buying its oil. Since returning to office in January, Trump has found that stopping the war is harder than he perhaps imagined. Senior American officials have warned that the US could walk away from the conflict if peace efforts make no progress. The diplomatic atmosphere has become more heated as Trump's deadline approaches. Putin announced last Friday that Russia's new hypersonic missile, the Oreshnik, has entered service. The Russian leader has hailed its capabilities, saying its multiple warheads that plunge to a target at speeds of up to Mach 10 cannot be intercepted. He claimed that they are so powerful that the use of several of them in one conventional strike could be as devastating as a nuclear attack. Separately, one of Putin's top lieutenants warned that the Ukraine war could nudge Russia and the US into armed conflict. Trump responded to what he called the 'highly provocative statements' by former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev by ordering the repositioning of two US nuclear submarines. Putin has repeated the same message throughout the war: He will only accept a settlement on his terms and will keep fighting until they're met. Russia's relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line have killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the UN. It has pushed on with that tactic despite Trump's public calls for it to stop over the past three months. On the 1,000-kilometer front line, Russia's bigger army has made slow and costly progress. It is carrying out a sustained operation to take the eastern city of Pokrovsk, a key logistical hub whose fall could open the way for a deeper drive into Ukraine. Ukraine has developed technology that has allowed it to launch long-range drone attacks deep inside Russia. In its latest strike it hit an oil depot near Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi, starting a major fire. (AP)
