US slaps new fees on Chinese ships

The measure is aimed at countering China's dominance of commercial shipbuilding and helping to revitalise the American industry, writes Peter Eavis from New York

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Cosco, China's dominant shipping company, could pay $1.5 billion in fees next year, according to an estimate by HSBC.

(PHOTOS BY NYT)

The Trump administration broadened its trade war with China yesterday, as it began imposing fees on Chinese ships docking at American ports.

The long-planned action is intended to counter China's dominance of commercial shipbuilding and help revitalise the United States' own shipbuilding industry, which has withered over the years.

China's Ministry of Transport threatened retaliation on Friday, saying it planned to hit American vessels with fees when they docked in China. The shipping clash comes as trade relations between China and the United States are again wobbling. Last week, after China announced more stringent restrictions on rare earth minerals, President Trump threatened to impose more tariffs on the country, before tempering his tone somewhat.

Supporters of the United States' shipping measures say that China has used subsidies to gain an advantage in shipbuilding, and that the fees are a way to deter ocean carriers from buying Chinese ships.

"Anything we can do to chip away at the disparity in shipbuilding that exists between the United States and China is to our benefit," said Mihir Torsekar, a senior economist at the Coalition for a Prosperous America, a group that supports many of Trump's trade actions.

The fees will take effect the same day as new tariffs on imported furniture, kitchen cabinets and lumber. The shipping levies stem from a trade investigation started under Joe Biden's administration and must be paid by ships owned by Chinese shipping companies. Non-Chinese shipping lines will have to pay fees when they send Chinese-built ships to American ports.