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16-10-2025
BEIJING/ LOS ANGELES: The United States and China on Tuesday began charging additional port fees on ocean shipping firms that move everything from holiday toys to crude oil, making the high seas a key front in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
A return to an all-out trade war appeared imminent last week, after China announced a major expansion of its rare earths export controls and President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese goods to triple-digits but after the weekend, both sides sought to reassure traders and investors, highlighting cooperation between their negotiating teams and the possibility they could find a way forward
China said it had started to collect the special charges on US-owned, operated, built, or flagged vessels but clarified that Chinese-built ships would be exempted from the levies.
In details published by state broadcaster CCTV, China spelled out specific provisions on exemptions, which also include empty ships entering Chinese shipyards for repair.
The China-imposed extra port fees would be collected at the first port of entry on a single voyage or for the first five voyages within a year, following an annual billing cycle beginning on April 17.
Early this year, US President Donald Trump’s administration announced plans to levy the fees on China-linked ships to loosen the country’s grip on the global maritime industry and bolster US shipbuilding.
An investigation during former President Joe Biden’s administration concluded China uses unfair policies and practices to dominate the global maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors, clearing the way for those penalties.
China hit back last week, saying it would impose its own port fees on US-linked vessels from the same day the US fees took effect.
Analysts expect China-owned container carrier COSCO, opens new tab to be most affected, shouldering nearly half of that segment’s expected $3.2 billion cost from those fees in 2026.
Its commerce ministry on Tuesday urged the US to “rectify its erroneous practices”, and pursue dialogue and consultation instead.
“If the US chooses confrontation, China will see it through to the end; if it chooses dialogue, China’s door remains open,” it said.
In a related move, Beijing also imposed sanctions on Tuesday against five US-linked subsidiaries of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean which it said had “assisted and supported” a US probe into Chinese trade practices.
Hanwha said in a message to media it is aware of the announcement and is closely reviewing the potential business impact on the company. Hanwha Ocean’s shares, opens new tab sank nearly 6%.
China also launched an investigation into how the US probe affected its shipping and shipbuilding industries.
“This tit-for-tat symmetry locks both economies into a spiral of maritime taxation that risks distorting global freight flows,” Athens-based Xclusiv Shipbrokers Inc said in a research note.
A Shanghai-based consultant who advises global companies on trade with China said the new fees may not be very disruptive to the industry and any rising costs probably would be captured in higher prices.
“What are we going to do? Stop shipping? Trade is already pretty disrupted with the US, but companies are finding a way,” the consultant said, asking to remain anonymous as he was not authorized to speak with the media. (Int’l News Desk)
