New fees proposed on Chinese ships

As was the case in 2018 when he was elected the first time, President Trump campaigned on bringing manufacturing of all kinds of goods back to the United States. This time around, that includes shipbuilding.

As part of a wider strategy to counter China’s growing dominance in the global shipping and logistics industries, the Trump administration recently proposed charging port fees of up to $1.5 million for ships entering a U.S. port that were built in China or are part of a Chinese fleet. The actual fees would vary according to several variables.

China has gone from accounting for just over 35% of global shipyard output in 2015 to more than 50% in 2024. U.S. shipyards, for comparison, account for...