U.S. Commerce Secretary stresses results for S. Korea shipbuilding cooperation

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday stressed the importance of producing tangible results from shipbuilding cooperation with South Korea, pledging to help address regulatory roadblocks that Korean enterprises may face in the United States.

Lutnick made the remarks during an event marking the opening of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center (KUSPC) in Washington -- a platform to facilitate the US$150 billion investment in the U.S. shipbuilding sector that Seoul has committed to as part of last year's bilateral trade and investment deal.

"The center is not an outcome. It is the most important work that produces the outcome of how many ships that are built," he said.

"Talking is not a thing. It sets the stage, but the reality is (that) it is vital for America to produce ships in America. Not talk about producing ships in America, not having meetings about ships in America, but actually building ships in America," he added.

He highlighted that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration will "judge" the center by actual results rather than by "how many meetings you hold, how many memorandums of understanding you sign or how many cocktail parties you host."

"We are going to judge the center by the capital you deploy, the facilities you modernize, the workers you train, the supply chains you establish, and ultimately the simple number of how many domestically produced ships we make together," he said.

"This is the standard that President Trump sets. It's a result-based model, not a process-based model."

Lutnick underlined the need for the United States to build both "military ships and commercial ships of all kinds here in America," while affirming Washington's commitment to help tackle regulatory obstacles that Korean companies may encounter while investing activities in the U.S.

"We are committed to removing barriers to production. If, when you are building and bumping into roadblocks, or you are feeling that the environment is not completely embracing of you, call the Department of Commerce. We will clear the regulatory roadblocks for you to build in America," he said.

"That is what our job is ... to help you understand that if you establish operations and you build your supplier network and you are expanding manufacturing here in the U.S., then we will be here to help you and you will have decades of prosperity and success by building here."

Pointing to South Korea's commitment to investing $150 billion to help revitalize the U.S. shipbuilding sector, the secretary said that it is "more than just a number."

"It is the opportunity to participate in the most significant industrial revitalization in the world. It is the revitalization of American shipbuilding," he said.

"We, with our maritime policies, will create unmatched demand and a stable investment environment and world-class technology so that we can combine the incredible technology that is driven out of America today with maritime success and lead the world going forward."