Following last month’s trade deal between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the United States today officially suspended port fees targeting China’s maritime dominance for one year. Tit-for-tat fees on each other’s vessels had been in force for less than a month.
While maritime industry interests largely welcomed the pause, labor unions strongly criticized the decision.
Mike Jacob, President of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, said the suspension “will provide space for a continuation of the conversations in the current docket”.
Lasse Kristoffersen, President and CEO of Wallenius Wilhelmsen, termed it “an appropriate step to allow U.S. shipyards, logistics providers, and supply chain partners to plan and execute capital investments with greater certainty.”
The International Chamber of Shipping said that while it supports the ambition to increase U.S. shipbuilding capacity, “the port fees imposed by the USTR, and subsequently by China as countermeasures to U.S. linked ships, has already posed significant challenges and disruptions for the shipping industry and global trade.”
The USW, IAM Union, IBEW, and IBB said that “workers, shipyards, and our broader economic and national security interests are once again being sidelined in favor of short-term considerations. Yet, after months of strong rhetoric about the need for a comprehensive approach to rebuilding American maritime strength, workers, shipyards, and our broader economic and national security interests are once again being sidelined.”
(Photo from Port of Los Angeles)