The U.S. government has begun to accelerate its efforts to curb China’s influence in the global shipbuilding and shipping market.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced on the 21st (local time) that it is pushing for a plan to impose fees on international maritime transport services related to Chinese shipping companies and Chinese-built ships, considering China’s dominance in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries.
The USTR plan includes provisions to impose a fee of up to $1 million (about 1.4 billion won) per vessel each time a Chinese shipping company’s ship enters a U.S. port, or a maximum fee of $1,000 (about 1.44 million won) per ton based on the vessel’s cargo capacity.
Additionally, for shipping companies operating multiple vessels, including Chinese-built ships, there are provisions to impose fees of up to $1.5 million (about 2.15 billion won) on Chinese-built ships entering U.S. ports under certain conditions.
Along with this, the USTR has also prepared regulatory proposals to promote the use of U.S. ships for U.S. products. From the immediate implementation of this policy, at least 1% of U.S. products transported by sea must be exported through U.S.-flagged vessels by U.S. shipping companies.
Two years after the implementation of these measures, the minimum percentage criteria will increase to 3%, to 5% after three years, and to 15% after seven years, ultimately mandating that U.S. products must be exported via U.S.-flagged ships owned by U.S. companies.
