US plan to tax Chinese ships hits choppy waters as backlash intensifies

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US plan to tax Chinese ships hits choppy waters as backlash intensifies

The US government is facing growing opposition over its plans to introduce steep fees targeting Chinese-linked ships entering American ports, with global shipping bodies and industry experts slamming the proposals as “disruptive” and counterproductive.

The comments come as the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) holds two days of public hearings in Washington over the policy, which would impose charges of up to US$1.5 million per port call for any shipping operator with Chinese-made vessels in their fleets or newbuilding orders with Chinese shipyards.

USTR has claimed the port fees, which it first proposed last month, are necessary to protect America’s national security and combat the dominance of China’s shipbuilding industry, which the USTR judges to be built on unfair government subsidies.

But the idea has sparked intense criticism from within the shipping industry, with insiders arguing the fees will harm the competitiveness of America’s own maritime sector while failing to curtail China’s lead.

“If implemented as proposed, it will be an extremely large disruptive event for shipments to and from the US, and with ripple effects which will subsequently be felt also in non-US trades,” said Lars Jensen, CEO of industry consultancy Vespucci Maritime, in a social media post on Tuesday.

During the first day of the hearings on Monday, representatives from several maritime groups – including two Chinese industry associations – urged policymakers to rethink the proposal and pursue a more effective approach to reviving America’s shipping industry, according to testimonies and comments posted on the USTR website.

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Amjad Ali 1 day ago

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