The United States is putting up walls with measures to counter Chinese dominance in shipbuilding. Beijing is responding by announcing appropriate countermeasures.
The amendment to China’s international shipping regulations is to come into force next Sunday. The decree, signed by Premier Li Qiang, has been presented by the Chinese press as a necessary countermeasure against countries or regions that impose or support bans, restrictions or discriminatory measures against Chinese operators, ships or crews engaged in international maritime transport and related services.
According to reports from the Xinhua news agency, among the measures developed by Beijing could be a tax on vessels calling at Chinese ports, or restrictions on ships’ access to ports.
The measures taken by the United States Trade Representative, which foresee the introduction of a surcharge on ships owned or built in China, are expected to come into force on October 14th, but according to Splash247, it is possible that their implementation date may be postponed or even cancelled.
According to the analysis company Freightos everything will depend on how the ongoing tariff negotiations between the United States and China evolve.
Translation by Giles Foster
