Trump Moves to Levy Chinese Vessels in Widening Trade War
The Trump administration took steps to impose levies on Chinese vessels docking at US ports, threatening to shake up global shipping routes and escalate the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
Under a plan put forward by the US Trade Representative on Thursday, all Chinese-built and -owned ships docking in the US would be subject to a fee based on the volume of goods carried, on a per-voyage basis. The proposal follows a months-long investigation ordered by the Biden administration into whether Chinese shipbuilding threatens US national security. The plan also hits non-Chinese shipbuilders, adding a levy to any vehicle carriers not made in America calling at US ports.
The so-called 301 petition ordered the fee to go into effect in six months, with another phase restricting foreign-built vessels that transport liquefied natural gas to begin in three years. After six months, the fee for Chinese vessels would be set at $50 per net ton, or the volume of a ship’s revenue-earning space, and then increase incrementally over three years.
Chinese-built vessels would be assessed based on net tonnage or per container. Funds from the docking fees would be used to help revitalize the waning US shipbuilding industry, which long ago pivoted from building commercial ships to focusing on naval contracts.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-17/trump-moves-to-levy-chinese-vessels-in-shipping-shakeup?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc0NDk4NDQ0OSwiZXhwIjoxNzQ1NTg5MjQ5LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTVVMwRDhUMEcxS1cwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJDNjgyQTUwQzJCRDM0MTFCQTgwQjEwQjZEQjczQzM1MSJ9.Do7G0vA7gNCIbuin7Qytf4zMDyUv4bHW3-lsRRiffjw
He really seems intent on killing our international trade, and I think one key motivation is to attack Mitch McConnell through his wife Elaine Chao's family shipping business (and probably doesn't even know she was born in Taiwan).
= new reply since forum marked as read
