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U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer told lawmakers on Tuesday that not all of the agency's proposed multimillion-dollar fees for Chinese-built ships to dock at U.S. ports will be implemented, and that they may not be cumulative, according to an overseas media report.
Greer told a Senate Finance Committee hearing that the proposals were made to address a lack of shipbuilding in the U.S. He said the port fees were "proposed actions or series of potential revenue" that could be used to incentivize shipbuilding in the U.S. following a USTR probe into China's growing dominance on the seas.
Scores of shipping stakeholders submitted public comments on the plan. Greer said he personally met with a number of them. The USTR is studying that feedback, along with testimony at public hearings in late March, very carefully, he said.
The agency wants to "make sure that we have the right amount of time, the right incentives, to bring shipbuilding here without impacting our economy," said Greer, who did not provide additional details on the proposed remedies. Implementation of the USTR port fee plan could come as late as November as a result of the feedback, three sources tracking the issue, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.
