The decision to change the target ports was made all over the world, because the Americans decided that ships produced in China would have to pay a fee with each entrance to the port, and its amount will depend on the participation of Chinese units in the shipowner. Ships belonging to shipowners who have a fleet consisting of 50 percent. Or more from Chinese units, they will pay a million dollars for entering the port. For fleets in which the percentage of Chinese ships ranges from 25 to 50 percent, the fee will be $ 750,000, and for those that have less than 25 percent. Chinese units, 500,000 dollars.
These fees are the result of the executive regulation signed by Donald Trump “Restoring America's Maritime Dominance”, which aims to rebuild American maritime domination and strengthen the US shipbuilding industry. According to this plan, a state fund will be created, which will be financed, among others, by new port fees. In addition, Trump announced an extension of the ban on wrapping to the ports of Russian ships and units related to Russia, as part of sanctions imposed on the Kremlin.
As the wnp.pl portal writes, The armators' reaction to these changes is to transfer units to other ports. In the case of PŻM, the Polish shipowner redirected its lakes from American ports to Canadian to avoid high fees. PŻM, which served, among others, the transport of chemical and high -quality steel fertilizers claims that the new regulations can destroy the industry.
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“Such fees can destroy any company”
In an interview with WNP.pl, trade unionists from PŻM emphasize that such fees can destroy any company that has ships produced in China. They add that Trump's decision can destabilize global navigation. In this case, shipowners have to face huge costs that can amount to millions of dollars a year.
The issue of the impact of these fees on the American economy is also a serious issue. Experts cited by WNP.pl believe that this decision will deepen the economic crisis in the USA. In particular, cereals, cotton, sugar or wood, which are currently transported by foreign shipowners, will be in American ports. This, in turn, will cause a decrease in prices of these products, which will negatively affect American producers. In addition, the reconstruction of the American trading fleet is a prospect of several years, which in a short time can lead to an increase in transport costs.
