Japan Offers to Help Revive US Shipbuilding, Hoping to Ease Tariff Pain

Japan hopes the United States will adopt the technology it created for its advanced icebreaker Shirase and use it for its military ships.

Japan has promised to help the United States revive its civilian and military shipbuilding industries, but there might be a hidden agenda for Japan. Some analysts believe this move could help ease American tariffs on Japanese imports and offset China’s increasing dominance in the market.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced that Japan is interested in helping the United States, highlighting the country’s long history in seafaring and the abilities of Japanese shipbuilders.

Stephen Nagy, a professor of international relations at Tokyo’s International Christian University, stated that the Japanese government’s primary objective of this move is to ease tariff tensions on Japanese imports.

The Japanese government wants to collaborate in the shipbuilding industry. They have a significant advantage in icebreakers, specialized vessels made to move in ice-covered water, often used in polar research in the Arctic or Antarctic.

Japan hopes the United States will adopt the technology it created for its advanced icebreaker Shirase and use it for its military ships.

Ishiba noted that Washington looked for shipyards in allies to repair and refit them. He suggested that Japan is ready to help them in this effort.

Analysts say that Japan will benefit from such an agreement since it would help to strengthen the country’s shipbuilding sector, bind the United States more firmly to the bilateral security treaty, and possibly reduce the impact of the tariffs that President Donald Trump is determined to impose, even on long-standing allies.

Nobody knows how much tariffs the United States will impose on Japan, but it might have a 10% baseline with higher rates on automobiles and electronics.

Trump and Japanese representatives discussed the trade deal where Japan wanted to push for zero tariffs, but the United States made it very clear that they wouldn’t go any lower than baseline tariffs.

Analysts predict that the United States can likely accept the offer since Washington knows that China has become a shipbuilding powerhouse and is already producing more ships than the United States.

Washington is also mindful that any confrontation in the Indo-Pacific area or a crisis involving Taiwan will need large-scale sea power.

China produces 90% of the global market for vessel maintenance and 70% of all non-military ships. Japan used to build half of the world’s ships till the early 1990s, but it has decreased to 10%. Japan is increasingly concerned that it is depending on a geopolitical competitor for its maritime capabilities.

South Korea did similarly to the United States. Japan and South Korea have shipbuilding skills, technology, yards, skilled workers, and the experience to enhance the scaling-up relatively quickly compared to the United States. Still, it will take several years before we see the results.

Even when they have reached a formal agreement, to build a ship from blueprint to blue-water vessel will take at least four to five years.

The government has already focused entirely on the shipbuilding industry, with the new Economic Security Promotion Law specifying increased investment, advancement of technology, and data infrastructure.

The law aims to protect a country’s economic interests and national security by ensuring the stability and reliability of essential resources and technologies.

They plan to use government funds to create new shipbuilding facilities and refurnish the obsolete ones.

It also investigates the prospect of helping companies build large port facilities in other countries, including the United States, and expand their operations in those markets.

The government views the shipbuilding industry as a significant source of domestic and international business as it involves military and commercial vessels.

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, Japan also plans to suggest a combined US-Japan fund for rebuilding the shipbuilding sector and investing in advanced technology, including creating ships powered by blue ammonia.