The USTR has proposed punitive levies for ships calling at US ports on Chinese shipping companies as well as other companies operating Chinese built ships of up to $1.5m per vessel call at US ports, with an additional charge of up to $1m per call for companies with ships on order at Chinese shipyards. The proposed trade action would hit COSCO especially hard, while Taiwanese and Korean carriers would benefit from the move as only a small proportion of their fleet are Chinese built, allowing for
Containerised cargo imports into the US from Asia have continued to grow over the last 7 years despite the introduction of US import tariffs since 2018. Overall cargo growth grew by 3.5% on a compounded basis between 2017 and 2024 with all Asian origins recording positive cargo growth, including China that posted growth of 0.8% during the period. Although China’s share of total US imports from Asia decreased from 70.4% in 2017 to 58.9% in 2024, it remains the largest origin country of containe