China hits back on US port fees with retaliatory levies

Written by: Ryan Woo, Lisa Baertlein and Arathy Somasekhar

BEIJING/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – China will raise port fees on Tuesday as a countermeasure to U.S.-owned, operated, built or flagged ships bound for China that will start on the same day, China’s transportation ministry said on Friday.

Later in the day, US President Donald Trump said he would increase tariffs on Chinese exports to the US to 100% and impose export controls on critical software in retaliation for China’s rare earth minerals export restrictions.

There are relatively few U.S.-made or U.S.-flagged ships trading internationally, but China will ensnare more ships by imposing taxes on companies or board seats in which 25% or more of the shares are held by U.S.-based investment funds, analysts said.

“This casts a wide net and could affect many public shipping companies traded on U.S. exchanges,” said Erik Broekhuizen, director of marine research and consulting at shipbroking firm Poten & Partners.

“The potential impact is significant.”

On Tuesday, ships built in China or operated or owned by Chinese entities will also be required to pay a fee at their first port of call in the United States.

SOME SHIPS WILL PAY BOTH CHINA AND USA FEES

US-based shipping company Matson has told customers it is subject to new China port fees and does not plan to change its service schedule.

Lars Jensen, CEO of container shipping-focused consultancy Vespucci Maritime, said on LinkedIn that CMA-CGM’s US-based American President Lines and Israel-based Zim, more than 25% of whose shares are understood to be owned by US entities, are also likely to be affected.

The charges in both China and the United States would apply to 100 ships owned by Poseidon’s Seaspan and leased by container lines, Jensen said.

Maersk Line Limited, APL, Zim and Seaspan did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the charges.

Oil tanker operators are mostly based outside the United States, but because they are listed in the United States, they could be affected by China’s port fees, analysts said.

For example, Scorpio Tankers has the industry’s largest and youngest fleet and is listed in the US. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In his client note, Broekhuizen said Chinese port charges were “throwing the tanker market into turmoil,” adding that many ships that could be affected were already en route to China.

Samantha Hartke, who heads the energy research firm’s Americas analysis, said an analysis by Vortexa showed that 43 supertankers carrying liquefied petroleum gas, or 10% of the global fleet, would be affected by China’s port charges.

Ships owned or operated by a Chinese entity would face a flat fee of $50 per net tonnage per voyage to the United States, analysts said. Analysts said Chinese-owned carrier COSCO, including the OOCL fleet, is the most exposed ship with charges of about $2 billion in 2026. COSCO did not immediately comment.

CHINA SAYS DISCRIMINATION IN US WAGES

The US fees imposed on China-linked ships following an investigation by the US Trade Representative are part of broader US efforts to stimulate domestic shipbuilding and blunt China’s naval and commercial maritime power.

“This is clearly discriminatory and seriously harms the legitimate interests of the Chinese shipping industry, seriously disrupts the stability of the global supply chain, and seriously undermines the international economic and trade order,” the Chinese ministry said. he said.

The USTR office did not respond to a request for comment.

Over the past two decades, China has established itself as No. 1 in the shipbuilding world, with its largest shipyards handling both commercial and military projects.

Joe Kramek, President and CEO of the World Shipping Association, said the charges announced by China, similar to those imposed by the United States, “add further complexity and cost to the global network that keeps goods moving and economies connected, increasing the risk of harming its exporters, producers and consumers at a time when global trade is already under pressure.”

RATES INCREASED IN THREE YEARS

China’s transport ministry said the rate for US-bound ships docking at Chinese ports starting Tuesday will be 400 yuan ($56.13) per net metric ton.

This will increase to 640 yuan ($89.81) from April 17, 2026, and to 880 yuan ($123.52) from April 17, 2027.

For ships calling at Chinese ports starting April 17, 2028, the fee will be 1,120 yuan ($157.16) per net metric ton.

Tensions between China and the US have deepened since September; The two superpowers are struggling to move beyond their trade tariff truce, a 90-day pause that began Aug. 11 and ends Nov. 9.

Retaliatory tariffs in this year’s US-China trade war have sharply restricted Chinese imports of US agricultural and energy products.

($1 = 7.1241 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Ryan Woo in Beijing, Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, additional reporting by Jonathan Saul in London and Arathy Somasekhar and Georgina McCartney in Houston; Editing by Kim Coghill, Kate Mayberry, Rod Nickel)