 "A view of ships under construction at the Jinling Shipyard in Nanjing in eastern China's Jiangsu province Friday, April 11, 2025. (Photo: AP)")
US President Donald Trump has picked up another bone with China after his government slapped a new port fee on ships built or operated by Chinese companies in a bid to boost its domestic shipbuilding industry.
“Ships and shipping are vital to American economic security and the free flow of commerce,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement on Thursday announcing the new fees, most of which will begin in mid-October.
“The Trump administration’s actions will begin to reverse Chinese dominance, address threats to the US supply chain, and send a demand signal for US-built ships,” Greer said.
The move comes as the US and China are locked in a trade war, with both countries going back and forth over tariffs.
What are the new rules?
Under the new cargo ship rules, Chinese ships will be required to pay a fee per tonnage or container. The fee will be applied only to Chinese-linked ships’ US voyage, and not at each port as some in the industry had worried.
The fee will be assessed up to five times per year and can be waived if the owner places an order for a US-built vessel.
Meanwhile, there will be separate charges for Chinese-operated ships and Chinese-built ships that will gradually increase over the years. For Chinese-built ships, the fee starts at $18 per net ton (NT) or $120 per container, meaning a ship with 15,000 containers could incur a fee of $1.8 million.
In addition to the fees, Greer also announced proposed tariffs on some ship-to-shore cranes and on Chinese cargo handling equipment.
US shipbuilding industry at its lowest
The US shipbuilding industry, which was at its peak post-Second World War, has declined over the years, with its global output only accounting for 0.1 per cent.
The sector is dominated by Asia, with China building nearly half of all ships launched, ahead of South Korea and Japan. The three countries account for more than 95% of civil shipbuilding, according to UN figures.
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