Headline
Hanwha doubles down on US shipbuilding
Top Story
At IndoPac 2026, Hanwha’s CEO said Korean shipbuilding strength is now firmly rooted in Philadelphia, where the workforce has grown from hundreds to over 2,000 since the Philly Shipyard acquisition. Hanwha just won its first US Navy contract for the Next-Generation Logistics Ship design and is building MARAD multi-mission vessels, with a $5 billion plan to lift annual output toward 20 vessels.
This is the clearest signal yet that the $150 billion Korea shipbuilding commitment is converting into US jobs and naval capacity.
Trade & Tariff
The 10 percent Section 122 tariff on Korean goods is set to expire around July 24, 2026, the 150-day statutory limit. The Court of International Trade ruled it unlawful in May, but collection continues under a Federal Circuit stay pending appeal. Watch for whether the administration lets it lapse or pivots to Section 301/232 authority.
BCW Take
The shipbuilding story is the durable one: tariffs may lapse, but Hanwha’s Philadelphia footprint and Navy contracts are structural bets that outlast any single trade ruling.
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Twenty-plus years on Korea-US. The fundamentals don’t change; the stakes do. I take on only a handful of clients at a time; by choice.
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