(Nov 3): The US is expected to suspend port fees for a year on China-linked vessels starting next week, as the two countries deescalate a maritime contest that had become a sticking point in the trade war.
From Nov 10, the US will pause measures designed to combat China’s shipping dominance, the White House said in a fact sheet. Meanwhile, Beijing said it would suspend the countermeasures it imposed in retaliation.
The announcements follow the trade truce agreed last week between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which included detente on a swath of trade issues from semiconductors to rare earths and soybeans.
The mutual imposition of port fees on each other’s vessels threatened to shake-up global shipping, raise freight rates and snarl the flow of goods including key commodities like oil.
During the one-year suspension, the US will negotiate with Beijing over the findings of its probe into China’s lead in maritime industries, according to the fact sheet. Washington will also pursue shipbuilding opportunities with South Korea and Japan, two countries often seen as a counterweight to Chinese yards.
Uploaded by Magessan Varatharaja
