The U.S. was proposing penalties on Chinese-built vessels to address China’s dominance in global shipping, which drew criticism from U.S. agricultural groups who warned of increased costs and decreased exports. U.S. agriculture organizations in recent weeks had called for the Trump administration to exempt bulk shipments of farm commodities from docking fees that will be placed on ships from China.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) finally issued its notice of action and proposed action in the Section 301 investigation of China’s targeting of the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors. The notice included targeted coverage that will allow most U.S. grain and co-product exports to continue without added costs on Chinese-built, but not Chinese-operated, bulk vessels.
“This decision, resulting from a year-long investigation and a bipartisan hearing, was made with the best interests of U.S. grain producers in mind and the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) thanks the USTR for moving to protect U.S. exporters and their trading partners abroad,” said Ryan LeGrand, USGC president and CEO, in a press release. “The Council has been in close contact with the USTR, offering the perspective of the grain industry and stressing the importance of exports. I’m thankful the USTR requested feedback from key constituencies to formulate a better policy for everyone who will be impacted by the decision.”
U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) extend thanks to the office of USTR for protecting U.S. farm commodity export competitiveness.
“We appreciate USTR’s understanding of the impact the original proposals could have had on wheat growers and the grain trade. The uncertainty about the proposals was already causing problems for overseas customers, who were hesitant to make purchases with additional port fees looming,” they said in a statement.
“This move means a lot to farmers and customers around the world,” said USW chairman Clark Hamilton, a wheat farmer from Ririe, Idaho. “We want to thank them for their efforts to balance the need for action against these Chinese maritime practices with the potential for harm to our export competitiveness.”
The actions are intended to increase production of U.S.-built ships to stimulate domestic manufacturing while protecting U.S. importers and exporters from future risk by ensuring a strong, independent logistical network.
