With less than 24 hours ahead of new U.S. government port fees on Chinese-made cargo ships, importers are grappling with additional tariffs that include other Chinese-made machinery critical to the supply chain.
On Friday, the U.S. Trade Representative announced changes following a review of public comments on the previous rule, which include an additional 150 percent tariff on rubber-tired gantry cranes, rail-mounted gantry cranes, automatic stacker cranes, reachstackers, straddle carriers, terminal tractors, top loaders, and components that make up the equipment.
Taking into account the superposition of previous tariffs on cranes, the new tariff rate can reach 270%.
In addition to the harbor crane fee, other changes include changes to the rate structure for vehicle carriers, also known as ro-ro vessels, which help transport automobiles, agricultural equipment and other heavy machinery.
Now, fees will be charged based on the net tonnage capacity of the vessel rather than the number of vehicles carried. A shipping carrier that owns and operates RoRos said the change could cost it millions.
This will be in addition to the new USTR port fees, which are expected to take effect Tuesday. The USTR, under the Biden administration, investigated China’s maritime practices in shipbuilding and crane manufacturing; the Trump administration continued its trade actions. According to business experts, payments on these new tariffs may be deferred until December 10, but the fees will start to apply on October 14.
In an email to CNBC, a spokesperson for the American Association of Port Authorities wrote that the port industry faces additional taxes on equipment needed for supply chain expansion and resilience.
“Ports large and small are struggling to finance large, modern, world-class equipment like cranes while government policies double prices overnight. The choice is literally between affordable or lagging equipment,” the spokesperson said. “The industry has always worked with the government to try to shift supply domestically or to allied countries – the industry has always supported a supply-side manufacturing incentive for this purpose – and we hope that Congress will ultimately pass it on a bipartisan basis with the support of the Trump administration. Until then, we will see a shortage of readily available and affordable equipment. Soon.”
Lars Jensen, founder of Vespucci Maritime, told CNBC that fees on cranes and port equipment are just another element added to U.S. supply chain costs.
“In fact, tariffs are another barrier and make imports more expensive and exports less competitive,” Jensen said. “In recent months, we have seen how containerized volumes to and from the United States are declining while volumes in the rest of the world are increasing sharply. Each new headwind will serve to solidify this development.”
Thomas Kazakos, secretary general of the International Chamber of Shipping, which represents the world’s national shipowners’ associations and more than 80% of the world’s merchant fleet, told CNBC they were still reviewing the changes.
“ICS supports the ambition to increase U.S. shipbuilding capacity and strengthen the U.S. shipbuilding industry, as additional commercial tonnage strengthens the efficiency and competitiveness of the global maritime sector,” Kazakos said. “However, USTR’s proposed service or port fees will have a huge impact on U.S. exports. This could harm the competitiveness of U.S. exports and increase costs for U.S. businesses and consumers, as the proposed port taxes are essentially a protectionist measure.”
In a global maritime study led by ICS and Professor Craig VanGrasstek of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, research suggests that a lower level of restrictive trade measures affecting shipping could increase the GDP of some economies by up to 3.4%.
“Removing tariff and non-tariff barriers is a quick and easy tool available to policymakers to increase GDP levels,” Kazakos said. “Countries, regardless of their level of economic development, would be better off if even modest reductions in existing barriers were made. As we see, these measures also often inspire retaliatory measures. Ultimately, no one will win if these tactics are continued.”
China recently announced anti-tariff measures. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there had been ““substantial communications” with China over the past weekend on trade, adding that President Trump is still expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month.
For the American energy market, these changes are good news; The USTR removed a clause suspending the authorization of LNG shipments. The provision in the April announcement required that an increasing proportion of U.S. LNG exports be transported on U.S.-built ships.
Other U.S. Maritime Security Program vessels that carry vehicles for military use and built in non-U.S. yards will continue to benefit from a “targeted exemption” until 2029.
Carl Bentzel, CEO of the National Waterfront Employers Association, told CNBC the trade association was “discouraged, but not surprised, based on discussions with the White House, that USTR did not grant the three-year waiver we requested.”
Bentzel said they are still evaluating the 150% tariff penalty affecting Argo’s very broad line of additional material handling equipment. “This seemingly came out of nowhere,” Bentzel said.
“It is clear now that the hammer has been dropped on Chinese cargo handling equipment, and so it will be more important than ever to secure government support to develop U.S.-based cargo handling technology,” he said.
