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The World Shipping Council (WSC) expressed its deep concern with the vehicle carrier remedies that could adversely impact U.S. exports in a letter that it wrote to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer last week.
Annex III of the Section 301 Investigation of China’s Targeting the Maritime, Logistics and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance contains significant flaws that if not amended, will inflict economic harm on U.S. manufacturers who export $20 billion annually by sea in American-made cars and tractors, and American consumers who are facing increasing vehicle prices, the WSC said.
The WSC asked that, as the USTR has done with all other Annexes, it opens an Annex III docket for public comment. A 30- to 60-day comment period would allow the USTR to benefit from public comment and would not burden it because the docket would close well before its announced implementation date of Oct. 14, 2025.
Nearly all vehicle carrier vessels serving the U.S. are foreign built. By imposing a fee on all foreign vessels, the USTR is actually incentivizing the purchase of Chinese-built vessels. Fees on all foreign vessels otherwise far exceed the USTR’s 301 authority. Retroactive fees on already-built Chinese vessels will do nothing to curb the behavior the USTR has found actionable.
