New US port-fee regime targeting China fails to achieve targets: AAFA

The stated objective of this new port-fee-regime is to address unfair practices that led to China’s dominance in global shipbuilding and strengthen the US shipbuilding industry. China produced 53 per cent of the world’s ships in 2024.

These fees are set to increase each April, raising the risk that the costs will become too high for some carriers to absorb and begin to be passed along to shippers, AAFA noted.

"Rather than reducing reliance on Chinese shipbuilding, carriers have simply reshuffled their fleets by deploying non-Chinese-built ships on US routes, while continuing to expand orders at Chinese shipyards. China’s global market share in shipbuilding continues to rise, climbing above 65 per cent in June and reaching 84 per cent in August,” said AAFA executive vice president Nate Herman said in a release.

“At the same time, Chinese carriers are shifting calls from US ports to Canada and Mexico to maintain North American service while avoiding the fees. This diverts business away from US ports and reduces work opportunities for American longshoremen," he added.

"We urge the Trump administration to reconsider this policy. Instead of imposing punitive port fees that create inefficiencies and divert business away from US ports, the focus should be on creating strong domestic incentives and providing sustained support to revitalise American shipbuilding," said AAFA trade and transportation specialist Audrey Clark.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)