Dominating after the Second World War, the American naval construction industry has gradually decreased and now represents only 0.1% of world production.
The sector is now dominated by Asia, China building almost half of all the ships launched, in front of South Korea and Japan. The three Asian countries represent more than 95% of civil naval construction, according to UN figures.
There will be separate costs for ships operated by Chinese and ships built in China, and both will gradually increase over the following years.
For ships built in Chinese, the costs start at US $ 18 per NT or US $ 120 per container – which means that a ship with 15,000 containers could see costs of 1.8 million US dollars.
Beijing warned on Friday that the new costs would be “detrimental to all parties”.
“They increase global shipping costs, disrupt the stability of world production and supply chains, increase inflationary pressure in the United States and harm the interests of American consumers and businesses,” said the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin Jian.
“In the end, they will not succeed in revitalizing the American shipbuilding industry,” he said.
Exemptions
Revisions respond to the main concerns expressed in an opposition tsunami in the global maritime industry, including port operators and national ships as well as American sender, coal and corn to bananas and cement.
They grant requested pits, while being in line in line which reflect the fact that the American naval manufacturers, which take place around five ships per year, will need years to compete with the production of China more than 1,700 per year.
The USTR has exempt from ships which transport goods between the interior ports as well as ports to the Caribbean islands and the American territories. The American and Canadian ships calling in the ports of the Great Lakes have also won a stay.
Consequently, companies such as American Matson and Seaboard Marine Transporters would dodge the fees. Empty ships also arrive in American ports to load exports such as wheat and soy.
Car carriers abroad Roll-on / Roll-Off, known as Ro-Ros, are eligible for reimbursements of costs if they order or take delivery of a ship built by the United States of equivalent capacity in the next three years.
The USTR has set a long chronology for liquefied natural gas carriers (LNG).
They are required to move 1% of American LNG exports to ships built, operated and reported American in the four years. This percentage would increase to 4% by 2035 and 15% by 2047.
The agency, which will implement the samples in 180 days, also refused to impose costs according to the percentage of ships built by Chinese in a fleet or potential orders of Chinese ships, as initially proposed.
The fees will be applied once each trip to the affected keys ships a maximum of six times a year.
