Lock the White House Watch Newsletter for free
Your Guide to Washington and the World’s 2024 US Election Means
The Trump administration will begin charging fees for China-built ships docking in US ports as it seeks to promote US shipbuilding in a move that could escalate trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.
The US filed a plan late Thursday to file a gradual, gradual, gradual, charge for the sudden charge of a Chinese-owned or built ship carrying cargo to US ports over several years.
The fees are part of an effort to boost pressure on China over what Washington claims and to boost domestic production of vessels. But they caused alarms to US exporters.
US farmers have disappointed that an overly punitive fee structure undermines their ability to export goods by visiting less American ports on ships, in an attempt to reduce the fees they have to pay.
Donald Trump’s trade representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement that the US will charge ship owners and operators of $50 per netton over 180 days, increasing $30 per netton over the next three years. Operators of ships built in China will be charged less.
“Shipping and transport are crucial to the free flow of American economic security and commerce,” Greer said.
“The actions of the Trump administration will begin to reverse China’s control, address threats to the US supply chain and send demand signals for US-built ships,” he said.
One Chinese shipping industry familiar with the issue said the new proposal represents a softening of the original proposal of US trade representatives.
This would have meant that all ship operators were responsible for the fees solely for owning Chinese ships.
Under the new proposal, non-Chinese-owned shipping companies could avoid paying port fees by using non-Chinese construction vessels on the US route. However, China’s transport lines still suffer a severe hit on fees.
China’s Foreign Ministry warned the US on Friday that “measures such as imposing port fees not only increase global shipping costs,” not only destroying supply chains, but also “inflationary pressures within the US and hurting American consumers and businesses.”
“These actions will not revive the US shipbuilding industry,” the ministry said, adding that China will take “necessary measures” to protect its interests.
Greer’s office said the US will impose “limited restrictions” on foreign vessels carrying liquefied natural gas, but the restrictions will not be inaugurated for three years and will increase over the 22-year time frame.
The rate is based on the number of voyages to the US and does not apply to each port in the country visited on the same trip, reducing the risk that the ship will skip smaller ports and harm US exporters.
The office of the US trade representative added that empty ships arriving to export goods from the country will not be billed.
Additional Reports by Nian Liu of Beijing
