JPMorgan Chase chairman Jamie Dimon pointed to Hanwha Philly Shipyard as a model of American manufacturing revival, invoking the rebirth of the ‘arsenal of democracy,' the Chosun Ilbo reported.

Ten billion dollars converging on Pennsylvania

Senator Dave McCormick announced nearly $10 billion in defense-related investments at a Pennsylvania defense and innovation summit held July 14–15 at the Army War College. The Philadelphia yard's share includes the Maritime Administration's National Security Multi-Mission Vessel program, worth about $1.5 billion and supporting more than 2,000 jobs.

Since acquiring the yard in 2024, Hanwha has modernized it with hundreds of billions of won in additional investment, and recently delivered America's first Jones Act-compliant offshore wind rock-installation vessel.

‘Even the welders must be American': getting past the Jones Act

The century-old Jones Act reserves U.S. coastal shipping for American-built, American-crewed vessels — a high wall for foreign shipbuilders. Hanwha is scaling it by pairing local hiring with design and process support from its Korean parent.

With the Trump administration pressing naval expansion, Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation — including the MASGA project — keeps growing. For the Chinese diaspora economy, the reshuffling of shipbuilding and defense supply chains carries both upside and risk worth watching.