The United States and China have agreed to suspend their reciprocal port dues for ships with a connection to the other country for one year.
The two sides are thus easing a central point of conflict in the maritime part of their trade dispute. This was announced by China’s Ministry of Commerce following a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The charges introduced by Washington and Beijing were based on factors such as a ship’s ownership, operation, flag and place of construction – an approach that, according to industry representatives, blurred traditional definitions and caused great uncertainty in international shipping.
In mid-October, the US government under President Donald Trump introduced special fees for China-related ships calling at American ports. The background to this was an investigation by the US Trade Representative into China’s dominance in the maritime sector and shipbuilding. According to information from Beijing, these measures will now be suspended for a year.
“Following the suspension by the US, China will also suspend its counter-sanctions against the United States for one year,” explained the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing. On the same day as the USA, China had imposed corresponding counter levies on US ships.
The reciprocal port levies had led to significant distortions in international shipping in recent months and caused freight costs to rise noticeably. The move is seen as part of the maritime power struggle between the two economies.
Washington is pursuing the goal of reviving the domestic shipbuilding industry. “We are trying to rebuild the American shipbuilding industry,” explained US trade representative Jamieson Greer on board Air Force One in response to a question about the talks between President Trump and China’s head of state Xi Jinping in South Korea.
In order to strengthen its own industry, the US government recently concluded agreements with Japan and South Korea on closer cooperation in shipbuilding. Beijing responded with sanctions against the US subsidiaries of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, which it accused of supporting Washington’s investigation. China also announced that it would continue to review the US measures against its maritime sector.
