U.S. and China Vessels charged with new port fees amid escalating trade tensions. Image credit: University of Rochester
(The Post News) – The United States and China began imposing new port tariffs on each other’s shipping vessels on Tuesday, ratcheting up tensions in trade between the world’s two largest economies and stoking fears of a new trade war.
China’s Transport Ministry said the new levies target US-owned, operated, built, or registered vessels because of what it called Washington’s “discriminatory and wrongful” conduct. Beijing asserted the tariffs are meant to protect its shipping industry, though ships built by China are exempt.
The measure is pursuant to Washington’s plan to apply the same fees to Chinese-built or China-operated ships, a move the US Trade Representative said would help US shipbuilders and “restore America’s maritime dominance.”
Tit for Tat Port Fees
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reports that ships linked to the US will now be charged 400 yuan ($56) per net tonne, with an annual increase to 1,120 yuan ($157) by April 2028. The levies hit ships on which US firms or individuals own more than 25% of the operating firm.
Washington’s tariffs are consistent with these charges, levying $50 per net tonne on ships owned or operated by China and $18 per tonne on ships constructed in China entering US ports, the tariffs to be increased to $140 and $33, respectively, in 2028.
Both sides set the charges at a maximum of five voyages a year per ship.
Freight analyst Claire Chong of shipping agency Thurlestone Shipping said that certain bulk freighters could incur $3 million at ports starting this week, up to over $10 million for behemoth vessels in 2028. “These are huge bills,” Chong said, “and they will echo through global supply chains.”.
Beijing had imposed the tariffs last week together with stricter export controls for rare earth metals, which led President Donald Trump to announce the additional 100% tariff on all Chinese imports from November 1.
The new sanctions happen coincidentally together with new US tariffs on wood imports, kitchen cabinets, and upholstered furniture, much of which comes from China.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are still likely to meet at the APEC Summit in South Korea this month.
“The 100% tariff doesn’t necessarily have to happen,” Bessent said. “The relationship is okay; lines of communication are open.”
China, however, accused Washington of “speaking peace while gunning for threats.”
“If there’s a fight, we’ll fight to the end; if there’s a talk, the door is open,” said a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson.
China dominates 53% of the global shipbuilding market, compared to the US’s 0.1%, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Its state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) builds more vessels annually than US shipyards have since 1945.
America, meanwhile, is attempting to resuscitate its shipbuilding industry under Trump’s April 2025 executive order, “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance.” The policy will assist in reducing reliance on Chinese-built ships and create “thousands of skilled jobs,” according to the Shipbuilders Council of America.
Sanctions and Market Impact
In parallel escalation, Beijing also blacklisted five US-related South Korean subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean on charges of assisting US trade investigations. Shares in Hanwha Ocean dropped nearly 6% on Tuesday following the announcement.
Major carriers like Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, and CMA CGM have been diverting China-linked vessels from US ports, and some US ship owners are diverting cargo already in transit to avoid new Chinese fees, Reuters reported.
“These moves are already causing carnage in maritime logistics,” said Ed Finley-Richardson, independent dry bulk analyst. “Seaborne trade patterns are rearranged overnight.”
The U.S. Treasury insists that it won’t ease up in the face of market volatility. “We will negotiate because it’s most economic for the U.S.,” Bessent said at CNBC’s Invest in America Forum.
Beijing itself warned that “the U.S. cannot call for talks while making new threats.”
Both nations weaponize logistics and trade, and experts predict a new front in the global economic war, one that promises to destroy supply chains, inflate shipping rates, and plunge the global economy into recession.
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