The Trump administration has proposed fees on Chinese maritime transport operators and vessels that enter U.S. ports.
According to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, as part of the investigation on China’s growing domination of the global shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors, proposed fees and restrictions were published on 21 February.
The proposal is open for public comment until 24 March, at which point the administration will determine whether or not to implement it.
Fees on services include:
Service Fee on Chinese Maritime Transport Operators:
A vessel operator of China to be charged a fee on the international maritime transport being provided
- at a rate of up to $1,000,000 per entrance of any vessel of that operator to a U.S. port;
- or per entrance of any vessel of that operator to a U.S. port, at a rate of up to $1,000 per net ton of the vessel’s capacity.
Service Fee on Maritime Transport Operators with Fleets Comprised of Chinese-Built Vessels:
Upon the entrance of a Chinese-built vessel to a U.S. port, a fee to be charged to that vessel’s operator on the international maritime transport provided via that vessel
- at a rate of up to $1,500,000;
based on the percentage of Chinese-built vessels in that operator’s fleet:
- for operators with 50 percent or greater of their fleet comprised of Chinese-built vessels, the operator will be charged up to $1,000,000 per vessel entrance to a U.S. port; for operators with greater than 25 percent and less than 50 percent of their fleet comprised of Chinese-built vessels, the operator will be charged a fee up to $750,000 per vessel entrance to a U.S. port; for operators with greater than 0 percent and less than 25 percent of their fleet comprised of Chinese-built vessels, the operator will be charged a fee up to $500,000 per vessel entrance to a U.S. port; or
- based on the percentage of Chinese-built vessels in an operator’s fleet: an additional fee of up to $1,000,000 will be charged to a vessel operator per vessel entrance to a U.S. port if the number of Chinese-built vessels in the operator’s fleet is equal to or greater than 25 percent.
Service Fee on Maritime Transport Operators with Prospective Orders for Chinese Vessels:
An additional fee based on the percentage of vessels ordered from Chinese shipyards
- for operators with 50 percent or greater of their vessel orders in Chinese shipyards or vessels expected to be delivered by Chinese shipyards over the next 24 months, the operator will be charged up to $1,000,000 per vessel entrance to a U.S. port; for operators with greater than 25 percent and less than 50 percent of their vessel orders in Chinese shipyards or expected to be delivered by Chinese shipyards over the next 24 months, the operator will be charged up to $750,000 per vessel entrance to a U.S. port; for operators with greater than 0 percent and less than 25 percent of their vessel orders in Chinese shipyards or expected to be delivered by Chinese shipyards over the next 24 months, the operator will be charged up to $500,000 per vessel entrance to a U.S. port;
- or a fee of up to $1,000,000 per vessel entrance to a U.S. port will be charged to a vessel operator if 25 percent or more of the total number of vessels ordered by that operator, or expected to be delivered to that operator, are ordered or expected to be delivered by Chinese shipyards over the next 24 months.
According to Clarksons data, China dominated last year’s orders in terms of CGTs, as four Chinese shipyards topped the global rankings in 2024.
