US unveils newport fees for Chinese-linked ships

WASHINGTON:

The United States unveiled new port fees on Chinese built and operated ships on Thursday, in a bid to boost the domestic shipbuilding industry and curb China's dominance in the sector.

The move — which stems from a probe launched under the prior administration — comes as the United States and China are locked in a major trade war over President Donald Trump's tariffs and could further ratchet up tensions.

"Ships and shipping are vital to American economic security and the free flow of commerce," US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement announcing the new fees, most of which will begin in mid-October.

Under the new rule, per tonnage or per container fees will apply to each Chinese-linked ship's US voyage, and not at each port as some in the industry had worried.

The fee will be assessed only up to five times per year, and can be waived if the owner places an order for a US built vessel.

Dominant after the Second World War, the US shipbuilding industry has gradually declined and now accounts for just 0.1 percent of global output.

The sector is now dominated by Asia, with China building nearly half of all ships launched, ahead of South Korea and Japan.

The three Asian countries account for more than 95 percent of civil shipbuilding, according to UN figures.

There will be separate fees for Chinese operated ships and Chinese built ships, and both will gradually increase over subsequent years.

For Chinese built ships, the fee starts at $18 per NT or $120 per container -- meaning a ship with 15,000 containers could see a whopping fee of $1.8 million.