US Target Chinese Shipbuilding In Latest Carrier Attack

The Trump administration has not been backward at coming forward with ways to penalise China or ocean freight carriers, and now the latest proposal is a penalty on Chinese-built ships that arrive at US ports.

The Office of United States Trade Representative (USTR) recently concluded an investigation with a proposal for US ports to charge fees for ships that were built in China.

In their proposal, which included a couple of variations to the suggested fees, they propose to charge carriers up to $1m per vessel arrival, irrespective of the carrier or owner’s nationality and which flag the vessel sails under.

This may include a scale based on how many Chinese-built vessels the carrier operates, which is set out below:

• Carriers with 50% or more Chinese-built ships in their fleet:  $1m per vessel call.
• Carriers with 25-49% Chinese-built ships in their fleet:  $750,000 per vessel call.
• Carriers with 0-24% Chinese-built ships in their fleet:  $500,000 per vessel call.

In line with the 'America-First' policy, they also suggest rebates for US built ships on arrival.

However, when you consider that more than half of today's ships are built in China and less than 1% in the United States, it is unlikely that carriers, importers or exporters will see any benefit from the USTR proposal if it is to carry through.

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