Published 4:25 pm Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Several U.S. farm groups say tariffs on China-built cargo-handing equipment would hurt U.S. agriculture, highlighting the challenge of curbing China’s dominance in maritime trade.
The Trump administration last month imposed port-of-call fees on China-built and -operated vessels beginning Oct. 14. At the same time, the administration proposed 100% tariffs on new Chinese ship-to-shore cranes and tariffs of somewhere between 20% and 100% on containers, chassis and chassis parts.
The Trump administration says it wants to head-off a determined push by China to control all aspects of global shipping and to revive U.S. shipbuilding and cargo-equipment manufacturing.
In comments May 19 to the U.S. trade representative, farm groups said they sympathized with those goals, but that U.S. agriculture relies on China-built cranes and containers and farmers will pay if cargo-handling equipment becomes more expensive.
One Chinese company, Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co., makes 80% of the ship-to-shore cranes at U.S. ports, according to a congressional report. The U.S. makes none. China holds similar dominant positions in making containers and chassis.
Tariffs on China-built cargo-handling equipment could force ports to raise fees on exporters or forego equipment upgrades altogether, the USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council and U.S. Pea and Lentil Trade Association said in comments to the U.S. trade representative.
“If ports are unable to replace aging or malfunctioning cranes because of the inflated costs of new equipment, it could lead to major disruptions in the movement of goods,” the allied trade groups said.
The Trump administration backed away from an earlier proposal to charge Chinese-built ships $1.5 million and Chinese-operated vessels $1 million at every U.S. port stop. Still, the administration in April imposed per-tonnage fees and solicited comments on tariffs on cargo-handling equipment.
The United Steelworkers, one of five unions that instigated an investigation by the Biden administration into China’s drive for maritime dominance, praised the proposed tariffs.
The Meat Institute, which represents meat and poultry packers, said the fees on the Chinese shipping industry will undermine export potential, stunt economic growth and fuel inflation.
Most soybeans are exported in bulk carriers, but some food-grade soybeans are loaded into containers. If the cost of containers goes up, soybean farmers will lose a competitive edge in the high-value market, according to the American Soybean Association.
“At a time when the farm economy is struggling and commodity prices remain depressed, the U.S. should be removing market barriers, rather than adding additional barriers to market access,” the soybean association commented.
The investigation into China’s shipping industry painted a master plan to rule the waves. Shanghai Zhenhua, the crane-building company, said it succeeds because of quality and reliability.
It will take years for the U.S. to develop domestic manufacturing capacity to meet the demand for cranes, the company said in comments to the U.S. trade representative.
The California Association of Port Authorities agreed it will be a long time before the U.S. builds ship-to-shore cranes. Until then, tariffs won’t challenge China’s dominance, according to the ports.
