The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on Tuesday announced a public comment process on the proposed suspension of port fees on Chinese vessels.
The action first announced in April followed the results of a federal investigation that found China leveraged unfair advantages to build a dominant position in global shipping and shipbuilding. The fees went into effect Oct. 14 at the rate of approximately $50 per net ton of capacity per ship per U.S. voyage.
China retaliated with port fees on U.S.-registered ships and shipping companies that had substantial U.S. investment.
The fees — part of an initiative by the Trump administration to blunt China’s maritime dominance and revive U.S. shipbuilding — set off a scramble by carriers to shift China-built ships away from U.S. services, or to re-register vessels in other countries such as Singapore and India. Atlantic Container Line, owned by the Grimaldi Group of Italy, re-registered a vessel under the U.S. flag. Washington earlier made an exception to the fees for empty ships loading American agricultural and other bulk exports.
Plans to suspend the fees for one year were part of a wide-ranging trade agreement that came out of meetings between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping earlier this month in South Korea.
The pause is scheduled to take effect Nov. 10. The public can submit written comments here by 5 p.m. Nov. 7.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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