The United States won’t charge Chinese ships the full slate of proposed port fees for using American ports, and those fees won’t be cumulative.
United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday told lawmakers that the fees, which are supposed to help jumpstart a revival of U.S. shipbuilding, prompted overwhelming opposition from across the shipping industry.
Stakeholders said port charges as high as $1.5 million per ship per call could raise container rates, snarl services and lead to ocean lines eliminating services to smaller ports. Greer said he had met with some stakeholders, Reuters reported.
“They’re not all going to be implemented. They’re not all going to be stacked,” Greer said.
The fees were proposed in February after an investigation by the USTR found China pressed unfair trade practices as it sought to dominate global container shipping and shipbuilding.
Port charges could still be implemented by November after further study, the news service reported, quoting unidentified sources.
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