Posted on May 23, 2025
Carl Bentzel, President of the National Association of Waterfront Employers (NAWE), testified before the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) during the public hearing on proposed tariff actions under the ongoing Section 301 investigation into China’s efforts to dominate the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries. The hearing examined the economic and national security implications of China’s state-subsidized practices in these sectors.
In his testimony, Bentzel reinforced NAWE’s support for restoring the U.S. maritime industrial base, while also urging the USTR to adopt a thoughtful and balanced approach to avoid unintended disruptions to the U.S. supply chain and marine terminal operators (MTO).
“U.S. MTOs and ports are facing major pressure with the implementation of tariff penalties on Chinese-manufactured goods,” said Bentzel in his remarks. “Reductions in trade volumes have run over 40% in some terminals more dependent on Chinese volume—levels comparable to those seen during the early pandemic.”
Furthermore, Bentzel emphasized the need for strategic transition planning:
“The proposed 100% tariff will drastically impact our industry as it will potentially displace 96% of the market for equipment from the U.S. market. There are limited viable alternatives outside China today, and without a clear, phased approach, this could significantly disrupt operations, drive up costs, and risk port safety.” NAWE strongly urged the USTR to delay implementation of any penalties on Chinese-built cranes and equipment by three years to allow the U.S. market time to adjust and ramp up domestic production capacity, stating the following:
“NAWE supports the USTR and the Administration’s efforts to counterbalance these actions and restore the U.S. maritime industrial base. But careful planning is required to ensure implementation of USTR’s proposed actions does not disrupt the U.S. supply chain. We should exempt existing Chinese-built STS cranes that initiated fabrication by December 31, 2024, from any tariff penalties. We should also pursue and establish a reasonable transition to allow the industry away from Chinese produced STS equipment,” Bentzel continued. “Finally, we will need to get support for legislation to help jump start a nascent domestic STS construction industry. NAWE is in the process of working with the STS industry to develop legislative recommendations that our industry could help transition to greater reliance on domestic manufacturing.” Bentzel was joined by Charlie Jenkins, CEO of Port Houston and Stephen Edwards, CEO of The Port of Virginia, two NAWE members who also provided critical perspectives on the implications of the proposed penalties.
A full transcript of the hearing will soon be available on USTR’s website. To read Bentzel’s full written testimony, please click here.
