1 of 4 | Korea Foundation and shipbuilding industry representatives attend a South Korea-U.S. shipbuilding and maritime innovation forum Thursday at RAND in Arlington, Va. Photo by Asia Today
July 17 (Asia Today) -- A senior U.S. lawmaker proposed building as much as 80% of some American naval vessels in South Korea while reserving sensitive technology and final assembly for the United States.
Rep. Ami Bera of California, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee overseeing East Asia and the Pacific, said Thursday that relying exclusively on domestic shipyards was unrealistic because the United States lacks sufficient workers and production capacity.
Bera spoke at a South Korea-U.S. shipbuilding and maritime innovation forum hosted by the Korea Foundation and the RAND research organization in Arlington, Va.
"To say we are going to build everything in the United States is wrong," Bera said, urging Washington to make greater use of allied manufacturing capacity.
