Posted on March 3, 2025
- Aggressive US backlash against Chinese maritime dominance could see Chinese-built vessels charged up to US$1.5 million when entering US ports
- Given the massive numbers of Chinese ships now in fleets around the world, international freighting firms are worried
The US has proposed charging up to US$1.5 million for Chinese-built vessels entering the country’s ports in a move that French-based shipping firm CMA CGM says would have a major impact on all companies in the container shipping industry, Reuters reports.
The fees would be a significant escalation of Washington’s trade war against Beijing, as the US takes umbrage at China’s growing dominance in the global shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors.
A policy document commissioned under former US President Joe Biden, and published on 16 January, declared that China’s rapid ascension was “unreasonable” and would “severely disadvantage” both US companies and the US economy and pose heightened economic security risks.
It noted that China’s share of the shipbuilding market had grown from less than 5 percent of global tonnage in 1999, to over 50 percent in 2023, alleging that this was the result of state subsidies. It also said that China now controlled 95 percent of global shipping container construction.
In response, the US wants to charge non-Chinese maritime transport operators operating Chinese-built ships up to US$1.5 million per port entry. Those with more than 50 percent Chinese-built fleets would pay US$1 million per vessel entry regardless of origin, while those with fleets of between 25 and 50 percent would pay US$750,000 and firms with fleets of less than 25 percent would pay US$500,000.
CMA CGM’s chief financial officer Ramon Fernandez told media that, as China now “builds more than half of all container ships in the world,” the additional fees would have a “significant effect on all shipping firms.”
Fernandez said that his company had already been expecting changes in the industry this year, due to US President’s Donald Trump’s additional tariffs potentially accelerating an existing shift in trade routes away from the US.
He added that a rush to beat the new tariffs had resulted in strong shipping volumes last year, which had continued into the start of 2025.
