The Trump Administration has indicated it will likely adjust its proposed port fees on Chinese-built and operated vessels.
At a Senate Finance Committee hearing on 8 April U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer stated that the administration is revising its port fee proposal in response to the public feedback.
According to various reports, the revised plan may include delaying implementation and introducing new fee structures aimed at lowering costs for visiting vessels and minimizing the impact on American businesses.
The proposal that was initially unveiled in February included port fees of up to $1.5 million per call for Chinese-built ships and up to $1 million for Chinese-operated vessels, along with provisions to shift 15 percent of U.S. exports onto U.S.-flagged ships.
Furthermore, Greer clarified that the measures are intended to address the lack of domestic shipbuilding, emphasizing that the proposals represent a range of potential remedies, not a definitive set of actions.
They’re proposed actions, they are a series of potential remedies that could be used to incentivise shipbuilding in the US They’re not all going to be implemented. They’re not all going to be stacked.
…said Greer.
