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The Trump administration will begin charging fees for Chinese-made ships docked at US ports in an attempt to promote US shipbuilding in a move that could widen trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.
The US has submitted plans for years to file a rapid charge of Chinese-owned or construction vessels that carry cargo to US ports.
The fees are part of an effort to boost pressure on China over what Washington claims and to boost domestic production of vessels. But they caused alarms to US exporters.
American farmers have disappointed that an overly successful fee structure harms their ability to export goods by forcing them to visit fewer American ports to reduce the fees they have to pay.
Donald Trump’s trade representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement that the US will charge ship owners and operators of $50 per netton over 180 days, increasing $30 per netton over the next three years. Operators of ships built in China will be charged less.
“Shipping and transport are crucial to the free flow of American economic security and commerce,” Greer said.
“The actions of the Trump administration will begin to reverse China’s control, address threats to the US supply chain and send demand signals for US-built ships,” he said.
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The US also has “limited restrictions” on foreign ships carrying liquefied natural gas, but restrictions will not be inaugurated for three years and will increase over a 22-year time frame, Greer’s office said.
The rate is based on the number of voyages to the US and does not apply to each port in the country visited on the same trip, reducing the risk that the ship will skip smaller ports and harm US exporters.
The office of the US trade representative added that empty ships arriving to export goods from the country will not be billed.
