Following the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)’s late February announcement regarding new tariffs on Chinese-built vessels, shipowners and charterers have scrambled to assess the fallout as concerns over rising transport costs and potential trade route disruptions mount.
“America first” : Throttling China’s dominance
When President Donald Trump’s administration announced that a fee of up to $1.5 million could be charged to Chinese-built vessels calling at US ports—an initiative described as an effort to ‘once and for all’ curb China’s dominance in shipping and restore the United States’ position in the global maritime industry arena—the world of shipping mustered through the initial wave with growing anxiety.