Latest News

US and China will implement tit-for -tat fees at ports, threatening further turmoil in the sea

On Tuesday, the United States and China will start charging port fees to ocean shipping companies that transport everything from holiday toys or crude oil. The high seas are now a major front in the global trade war between two of the largest economies. The Trump administration announced early this year that it would levy fees on ships linked to China to weaken the country's hold on the global shipping industry and boost U.S. shipbuilding. A report conducted during the administration of former president Joe Biden concluded that China used unfair policies and practices in order to dominate the global shipping, logistics, and shipbuilding industries. This led to the imposition of these penalties.

On October 14, the U.S. will begin collecting these fees. Analysts predict that China's container carrier COSCO will be the most affected by these fees, as it is expected to shoulder nearly half of this segment's $3.2 billion in costs from 2026.

China responded last week by announcing that it would also begin imposing its own port charges on vessels linked to the United States, starting Tuesday. Omar Nokta, a Jefferies analyst, noted that 13% crude tankers and 10% of container ships would be affected.

In a research report, Xclusiv Shipbrokers Inc. in Athens said that "this tit-fortat symmetry locks two economies into a spiraling maritime taxation which risks distorting the global freight flow." Trump threatened on Friday to impose additional 100% tariffs against China for limiting the export of vital minerals and to put in place new export controls by November 1 on "any critical software". Hours later, administration officials warned that countries who voted in favor of a UN plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by ocean shipping, as part of the International Maritime Organization, could face sanctions, bans on ports, or punitive charges for vessels. China has publicly backed the IMO plan. "The weaponisation both of trade and environmental policies signals that shipping is moving from being a non-partisan conduit of global commerce into a direct tool of statecraft," Xclusiv stated. (Reporting and editing by Stephen Coates in Los Angeles, Lisa Baertlein from Los Angeles)

(source: Reuters)