A worker near a ship which is currently under construction at Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, May 13, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo
BRUSSELS, Feb 10 (Reuters) – Japan launched a second complaint at the World Trade Organization on Monday over support South Korea gives its shipbuilding industry, intensifying a wider dispute between the two Asian countries.
Japan said in its filing that it had complained to South Korea on Jan. 31 over measures related to the development, production, marketing and sales of commercial vessels. Japan circulated it to other WTO members on Monday.
Washington’s two biggest Asian allies are embroiled in a widening political and economic dispute which erupted over forced labor in World War Two.
South Korea’s shipbuilding and shipping companies have undergone massive restructuring in recent years amid a slowdown in global demand and rising competition from China.
Japan said the contested measures include loans below market cost and equity infusions, loans and refund guarantees on terms that are not commercially reasonable and unfair subsidies for vessels complying with environmental standards.
The complaint mirrors Japan’s filing with the WTO in November 2018, which also took aim at Korean measures to help shipbuilders, including financing to enable them to stay in business in prolonged periods of low prices.
Japan and South Korea have 60 days of “consultations” to settle the dispute, after which Japan can ask the WTO to adjudicate. The two are technically still in consultations over the 2018 complaint.
In the wider dispute, Japan has enraged South Korea with a plan to “normalize” trade procedures, effectively curbing exports to South Korea and erecting a barrier that could disrupt the global supply of semiconductors.
That followed a ruling in 2018 by a South Korean court that Japanese companies had to pay compensation to South Koreans forced to work in Japanese factories during Japan’s occupation of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop, editing by Ed Osmond)
By Gabriel Stargardter CALAIS, France, July 4 (Reuters) – Early one morning this week, a dinghy motored along a vast beach in northern France, stopping every few hundred meters to pick up...
Major General Mikhail Gudkov, deputy head of the Russian Navy who was praised and promoted by President Vladimir Putin, has been killed in action, depriving Moscow of one of its most senior officers, the Russian military said on Thursday.
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson has selected Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group to build three new 160-vehicle hybrid-electric ferries in a contract valued at $714.5 million. The Washington State Ferries (WSF) will...
July 2, 2025
Total Views: 2047
Get The Industry’s Go-To News
Subscribe to gCaptain Daily and stay informed with the latest global maritime and offshore news
— just like 109,107 professionals
Secure Your Spot
on the gCaptain Crew
Stay informed with the latest maritime and offshore news, delivered daily straight to your inbox
— trusted by our 109,107 members
Your Gateway to the Maritime World!
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.