Trump Proposes New Ship Fees To Challenge China’s Maritime Might

By Jenny Leonard and Jennifer A. Dlouhy

Feb 21, 2025 (Bloomberg) –The Trump administration is proposing fees on the use of China’s commercial ships it says could help counter the country’s maritime dominance. 

The Office of the US Trade Representative outlined a plan for fees on Chinese-built ships that transport traded goods as well as mandates requiring a portion of US products to be moved on American vessels.

The proposal, announced on Friday, springs from a trade investigation into China’s practices in the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industries that began under the Biden administration and concluded with a report just four days before President Donald Trump took office. The US inquiry concluded that Beijing was unfairly dominating the sectors and said “urgent action” was needed to address the issue.

If adopted, however, the proposed fees could translate to additional costs for American consumers, since higher shipping costs could be passed on in the form of higher prices. It’s also not clear that the proposals would be enough to restore American shipbuilding capacity, which has eroded despite century-old protections meant to encourage the use of US-built and -operated vessels.

While the US churns out its own steady supply of wa…