The US eases its clampdown on Chinese ships. Yesterday, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) presented a substantial update to the tariff package announced on 21st February. Originally it had been applied to ships operated by Chinese shipping companies, those built in China, and operators with new ships on order from Chinese shipyards.
The new measures, scheduled to be presented at a public hearing on 19th May, are designed to balance the need to counter China’s dominance in world shipbuilding with the need to limit disruption to US exporters.
The new regulatory framework provides for a gradual increase in duties for ships operated by Chinese shipping lines in three phases. In addition, it introduces a very important new feature: the tariffs will no longer be accumulative. In other words, they will only apply when entering the United States and no longer every time a ship calls a US port. For example, a vessel deployed on the Atlantic service calling at four ports in the United States will now only be charged once.
The tariff package stipulates that no charges are to be paid in the first 180 days after the Ships Proposed Action comes into effect.
From October 2025, ships operated by a Chinese shipowner entering US territory will have to pay $50 per net tonne. The amount will increase by $30 each year for the next three years, until it hits $140 per tonne by April 2028.
The new measure, which will apply to all ships operated by Chinese carriers, irrespective of where they were built, is clearly less stringent than the original measure, which envisaged a $1,000 /tonne levy, up to a maximum of $1 million for each call at a US port.
As for vessels built in China, the amendment stipulates that as of October 2025, they are to be taxed $18 per tonne or $120 per container unloaded each time they enter US territory. This amount will gradually increase until April 2028, when it will hit $33 per tonne or $250 per unloaded container.
These tariffs do not apply if the containership has a capacity of less than 4,000 TEUs or has sailed less than 2,000 nautical miles. Shipping companies who have ordered or taken delivery from a US shipyard of a vessel of equal or greater tonnage than those affected by the taxation are also exempt from paying the tax for three years. The USTR points out that the newbuilding will also have to be made from US-made steel and components.
The initial proposal did not provide for any exemption but applied a maximum fee of up to $1.5 million each time these vessels called at a US port.
Another new feature is the elimination of fees originally designed for non-Chinese ships managed by operators with newbuildings on order in Chinese yards (based on the percentage on order in Chinese yards over the next 24 months)- The original proposal envisaged up to one million dollars each time this category of vessels entered a US port.
Furthermore, US exporters are no longer obliged to use US-flagged vessels, except for LNG shipments.
Finally, the USTR proposes a 20-100% tariff on gantry cranes and containers from China.
“COSCO/OOCL will be hit harder than other carriers. This is likely to cause a network adjustment in Ocean Alliance such that CMA CGM and Evergreen will be operating US-bound services as much as possible,” says Vespucci Maritime CEO Lars Jensen.
Other carriers will reformulate their connecting services, with the intention of using Chinese ships on trade routes other than those with the US as their destination/origin.
“The exemption for vessels below 4000 TEU and voyages below 2000nm will incentivize transshipment for cargo to USEC in the Caribbean hub ports,” adds Jensen “It will also incentivize the use of smaller vessels especially on trades with South America and on the Atlantic.”
Translation by Giles Foster
