The US Trump administration has unveiled revised plans to charge new fees on Chinese ships as part of a controversial plan designed to bolster flagging American shipbuilding, while reducing China’s dominance in the global shipping and shipbuilding industry.
While earlier administration plans to assess port fees on Chinese-built ships in excess of $1.5-3.5 million per port call appear to have been shelved for now, the new ton-based fees on Chinese ships are expected to increase global anxiety over Trump’s growing focus on China and his extension of global trade tariffs to all nations trading with the US.
According to the new proposal, as of October 14, Chinese-owned and operated ships will be assessed a fee of $50/nt, a fee that is scheduled to increase $30/nt per year over the next three years, so says a report from the Federal Register, posted by the US Trade representative (USTR) on April 17. The fees will be charged once per voyage and not per port as originally proposed.
“Ships and shipping are vital to American economic security and the free flow of commerce,” said US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in a statement. “The Trump administration’s actions will begin to reverse Chinese dominance, address threats to the US supply chain, and send a demand signal for US-built ships.”
In response to the US actions, Chinese commerce minister said today in a statement to CNN, “China is strongly dissatisfied and firmly apposed to this, he said. “China will closely follow the relevant developments of the US, and will resolutely take necessary measures to safeguard its own rights and interests.”
