US, China impose port fees: Is a return to all-out trade war imminent?

China and the US person started charging further larboard fees connected shipping vessels arsenic commercialized tensions betwixt the world’s 2 largest economies soared back, pursuing China’s uncommon world export controls successful effect to caller commercialized restrictions imposed by the Trump administration.

The larboard fees from some sides went into unit connected Tuesday and person caused fearfulness among analysts, who accidental maritime commercialized has go a cardinal battlefront betwixt the 2 nations.

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The caller commercialized tensions erupted contempt a pause successful the tariff war, and travel arsenic Trump is expected to conscionable his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping connected the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) acme successful South Korea astatine the extremity of this month.

China has accused the US of “double standards” aft it threatened to enforce a 100 percent tariff connected Chinese goods pursuing past week’s uncommon world curbs by Beijing.

Here’s what to cognize astir the caller larboard tariffs arsenic the 2 countries are engaged successful ongoing commercialized negotiations:

FILE- In this May 21, 2018, record photo, instrumentality ships are unloaded astatine the Port of Oakland successful Oakland, California [Ben Margot/AFP]

What are the larboard fees imposed by the 2 sides?

A White House enforcement bid named “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance” directed the US Trade Representative (USTR) to enforce charges connected owners and operators of Chinese-built, owned, oregon operated vessels entering the US by October 14  arsenic follows:

• Vessel operators indispensable wage $50 per nett ton for Chinese-owned oregon operated vessels arriving astatine a US port, to beryllium accrued to $140 by April 2028
• Vessel operators of Chinese-built vessels arriving astatine a US larboard indispensable wage $18 per nett ton oregon $120 per container, which volition beryllium accrued to $33 and $250, respectively, by 2028
• Fees are to beryllium charged for a maximum of 5 times per twelvemonth for idiosyncratic vessels
• Long-term users of China-operated vessels carrying US ethane and liquified petroleum state (LPG) are exempt till December 10

China, connected October 10, retaliated and said it would besides complaint US-owned, operated, built, oregon flagged vessels further levies starting from October 14 arsenic follows:

• Vessels owned oregon operated by American companies oregon individuals volition wage a 400 yuan ($56) per nett ton interest for each voyage
• Ships oregon vessels built successful the US oregon flying an American emblem volition wage the aforesaid amount
• The fees volition beryllium charged for a maximum of 5 trips per year, and volition emergence to scope 1,120 yuan ($157) per nett ton
• Empty vessels entering Chinese shipyards for repair are exempt. Chinese-built ships are besides exempt.

China’s Ministry of Transport said successful a connection connected October 10 that the tariffs were “countermeasures” meant to respond to the US’s “wrongful and discriminatory” practices.

In a abstracted but related move, China connected Tuesday imposed sanctions connected 5 subsidiaries of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, which it said “assisted and supported” US investigations into Chinese trade.

The US was the archetypal to levy further fees connected Chinese-owned ships backmost successful April successful a bid to loosen Beijing’s clasp connected the planetary maritime manufacture and bolster US vessel manufacturers. That determination followed an probe nether the Joe Biden medication that revealed China dominates planetary maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding utilizing “unfair policies and practices” specified arsenic funnelling authorities funds into shipbuilding.

China deed backmost astatine the US and said it would besides complaint akin fees connected the aforesaid time US tariffs were acceptable to spell into effect.

In a connection connected Tuesday, China’s Ministry of Commerce said: “If the US chooses confrontation, China volition spot it done to the end; if it chooses dialogue, China’s doorway remains open.”

(Al Jazeera)

Who are the main players successful the planetary maritime trade?

China dominates the planetary commercialized shipbuilding industry, followed by South Korea and Japan, according to information from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Beijing built 53 percent of commercialized ships successful 2024, portion the US produced lone 0.1 percent of specified vessels. Chinese state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) is the astir important subordinate successful the industry, and built much commercialized vessels by tonnage successful 2024 than each of the US shipbuilders person done since 1945, according to CSIS.

The state-owned CSSC besides notably manufactures naval warships, and contributes to China’s presumption arsenic having the largest naval fleet by vessel numbers -at 355 vessels by 2020, according to a US Department of Defense report, compared with the US’s 293 naval vessels astatine the time.

While analysts constituent retired that the US maintains the strongest navy based connected firepower, China’s shipbuilding dominance has raised information concerns successful Washington for respective years.

Why did the US enforce curbs connected Chinese-built ships?

The US is attempting to loosen China’s grip connected maritime dominance.

Washington archetypal began mulling taking enactment against China’s shipbuilding capabilities successful May 2024, aft 5 US commercialized unions petitioned the USTR for “relief” against what they called China’s “unreasonable” practices successful the maritime and shipbuilding sector, citing extended state-led enactment for the Chinese shipbuilding and maritime sectors, which the US argues gives Beijing an unfair borderline implicit competitors.

The USTR thereafter launched investigations into Chinese shipping commercialized practices. In January 2025, aft President Trump was sworn into office, the section determined that Chinese actions “burdened and restricted” US commerce, and that enactment would beryllium taken. Over respective weeks, US commercialized unions and lobbyists testified astatine nationalist hearings regarding the enactment to beryllium taken, earlier Trump’s Executive Order “14269 – Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance” was published successful April.

In March, President Trump, successful an code to Congress, promised that his medication would “resurrect” the US shipping manufacture and added that helium would make an “office of shipbuilding”.

“We are besides going to resurrect the American shipbuilding industry, including commercialized shipbuilding and subject shipbuilding,” Trump told lawmakers, prompting applause from House Republicans. “We utilized to marque truthful galore ships. We don’t marque them immoderate much precise much, but we’re going to marque them precise fast, precise soon. It volition person a immense interaction to further heighten our nationalist security.”

In a connection pursuing Trump’s speech, Matthew Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America, praised the president’s move. “By afloat utilising the existing home shipyard capacity, the shipyard concern basal tin conscionable the increasing demands of nationalist defence, reconstruct American competitiveness, and make thousands of skilled jobs successful communities crossed the nation,” helium said.

How volition the tariffs impact planetary trade?

Analysts accidental the determination connected some sides is disrupting planetary commercialized operations already. Chinese instrumentality bearer COSCO could carnivore the astir load from the US fees, expected to outgo the manufacture $3.2bn, portion shipping quality steadfast Clarksons Research said successful a study that China’s caller larboard fees could importantly impact lipid tankers, which relationship for 15 percent of planetary capacity, the Reuters quality bureau reported.

Major shipping links, including Danish-owned Maersk, German Hapag-Lloyd, and French CMA CGM, person reportedly swapped China-linked ships from their US shipping lanes, according to Reuters.

“We are successful the hectic signifier of the disruption wherever everyone is softly trying to improvise workarounds, with varying degrees of success,” Ed Finley-Richardson, an autarkic adust bulk shipping analyst, told Reuters.

The expert added that determination are reports of US vessel owners operating non-Chinese vessels trying to merchantability their cargoes to different countries portion en way to China, truthful the vessels tin divert. Reuters reported that it was not instantly capable to corroborate the claim.

Meanwhile, South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean is already facing Chinese sanctions connected 5 of its US-linked subsidiaries. Hanwha is 1 of the world’s largest vessel manufacturers, and owns the commercialized Philly Shipyard successful the US authorities of Philadelphia. Hanwha Ocean’s shares dropped astir 6 percent pursuing the announcement, Reuters noted.

What are the different commercialized curbs announced, and volition this pb to an all-out commercialized war?

China, which has a monopoly connected captious rare-earth metals utilized to manufacture electronics, tightened export controls on 5 of them connected October 9 nether its “announcement fig 61 of 2025”, including holmium, erbium, thulium, europium, and ytterbium. That’s successful summation to curbs connected 7 metals announced earlier successful April.

President Trump, successful retaliation, has threatened to rise tariffs connected Chinese goods to 100 percent from November 1.

The US imposed dense tariffs connected Chinese goods earlier successful Trump’s presidency, successful an effort to code what Washington views arsenic imbalanced commercialized relations. Those tariffs were yet eased aft the 2 countries came to an statement successful September for a 90-day intermission that is acceptable to expire connected astir November 9.

However, tensions are again precocious pursuing the caller uncommon world tariffs by China, and the larboard levies announced by some countries. Analysts person antecedently warned that a full-scale commercialized warfare betwixt the US and China could deed planetary markets severely and punctual a recession.