A trade group representing US shippers of grain, soyabeans and other agricultural commodities has said a drive to renew port taxes on Chinese ships docking at American ports could put some farmers out of business, FreightWaves reported.
Democratic senators Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts had called on US President Donald Trump’s administration to reinstate port fees on Chinese cargo vessels calling at US ports, the 15 June report said.
The fees were introduced earlier this year after a US Trade Representative investigation found that China allegedly used unfair advantages, such as central control and subsidies, to build a dominant position in the maritime sector, FreightWaves wrote.
President Trump suspended the fees until November after China applied reciprocal fees on US lines.
Prior to that, following protests by exporters, the White House exempted empty vessels arriving to load farm and other bulk shipments.
“Two Senators are now pressing to reinstate USTR’s … proposed remedies to resuscitate US shipbuilding – by dramatically increasing shipping costs for US exporters and importers,” the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC) said.
According to the AgTC, the USTR’s proposals “threaten the very existence of large segments of US agriculture, by denying them the ability to continue to export.”
In addition, the proposals “single out US exports for the most draconian measures, for which compliance is unrealistic if not impossible, and will inflict immediate economic harm on large portions of the country,” the organisation added.
A study prepared by Trade Partnership Worldwide in March detailing the impact of port fees was included in a letter sent to the administration and Congress and signed by 277 trade associations.
