The Trump administration unveiled new plans on Thursday to impose levies on Chinese ships docking at US ports — potentially escalating tensions in the ongoing trade conflict between the world’s two largest economies.
Under the proposal announced by the US Trade Representative, fees would be imposed on all Chinese-owned or built vessels docking in American ports.
The levies would be assessed based on the volume of cargo transported on each voyage.
The measure follows a lengthy investigation initiated under the Biden administration which looked into whether China’s dominant shipbuilding industry poses risks to American national security.
The proposed plan will not only affect Chinese vessels but also foreign-built vehicle carriers, imposing a $150-per car equivalent unit fee on such carriers arriving at US ports — unless they were built domestically.
The initial fees on Chinese vessels will be set at $50 per net ton — a measure reflecting a ship’s usable cargo space — and are scheduled to increase gradually over three years.
Funds collected through these docking fees would directly support the US shipbuilding sector — a once-thriving industry that has shifted primarily toward naval construction due to declining commercial demand.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian strongly criticized the measures, asserting at a Friday press briefing in Beijing that these new levies would ultimately “hurt the US itself as well as others.”
Lin emphasized that such tariffs and fees on port and cargo-handling facilities would disrupt international supply chains without delivering meaningful revitalization to the US maritime industry.
“Measures such as imposing port fees and levying tariffs on cargo-handling facilities hurts the US itself as well as others,” Lin said.
Notably, the current proposal differs significantly from its original version, which sought to impose fees of at least $1 million per ship per US port visit.
The revised structure, charging fees based on cargo volume per voyage rather than per port call, was designed to mitigate concerns from shipping companies worried about port congestion.
The USTR included exemptions to soften the impact, allowing shipping companies to avoid fees entirely for up to three years if they can prove that they have ordered new vessels built in the US.
Ships arriving empty to collect bulk cargo and those traveling to ports in the Caribbean or the Great Lakes are also exempted.
Labor unions in the American steel and shipbuilding industries praised the measures as beneficial steps toward bolstering domestic shipping capabilities.
However, the levies have sparked concern among American importers who depend heavily on Chinese vessels for transporting a wide array of goods from crude oil to consumer products.
Critics argue the fees effectively represent additional tariffs on top of those already imposed by Trump, which could increase costs for consumers.
Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), the ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, warned that the fees could negatively impact American farmers reliant on exporting their products.
During hearings in March, opponents highlighted that the proposed measures would raise prices, disrupt trade flows and pose challenges for American ports.
They also expressed skepticism that fees alone could significantly undermine China’s substantial maritime dominance, which has been established over recent decades.
A secondary phase scheduled to begin in three years would introduce incremental restrictions over 22 years on foreign-built vessels transporting liquefied natural gas.
The US is currently the world’s largest LNG exporter.