US, China to roll out tit-for-tat port fees
The United States and China will begin charging port fees to ocean carriers carrying 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.
China said it had begun collecting special fees on US-owned, operated, built or flagged ships, but said Chinese-built ships would be exempt from the duty.
In details published by state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday, China outlined specific provisions for exemptions, including for Chinese-built ships and empty ships entering Chinese shipyards for repairs.
Port fees imposed by China will be collected at the first port of entry on a single trip or for the first five trips in a year, following the annual billing cycle that begins April 17.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump’s administration announced plans to charge China-linked ships to loosen China’s grip on the global shipping industry and support U.S. shipbuilding.
An investigation conducted during former president Joe Biden’s administration concluded that China used unfair policies and practices to dominate the global shipping, logistics and shipbuilding industries, paving the way for these penalties.
The US is also scheduled to start collecting fees on October 14. Analysts expect Chinese-owned container carrier COSCO to be hardest hit, with that segment bearing almost half of the expected US$3.2 billion ($4.9 billion) in costs from these fees in 2026.
China responded last week by saying it would impose its own port fees on US-bound ships starting the same day. Jefferies analyst Omar Nokta noted that 13 percent of crude tankers and 11 percent of container ships in the global fleet will be affected.
“This tit-for-tat symmetry locks both economies in a maritime taxation spiral that risks disrupting global cargo flows,” Athens-based Xclusiv Shipbrokers Inc said in a research note.
In retaliation for China restricting exports of critical minerals, Trump on Friday threatened to impose 100 percent additional tariffs on goods from China and impose new export controls on “any critical software” by Nov. 1.
Administration officials warned hours later that countries that vote in favor of the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization’s plan this week to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from ocean shipping could face sanctions, port bans or criminal penalties on ships.
China openly supported the IMO plan.
“The weaponization of both trade and environmental policy signals the transformation of shipping from a neutral channel of global trade into a direct tool of statecraft,” Xclusiv said.
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