According to a situation briefing from the White House, the United States is expected to suspend port fees for ships related to China starting from next Monday (November 10). This move aims to ease the maritime transportation disputes between the two countries.
The White House indicated in a briefing on the U.S.-China trade agreement last week that starting from November 10, the U.S. will suspend measures designed to curb China’s dominance in shipping for a year. At the same time, Beijing will also suspend retaliatory countermeasures previously implemented.
The mutual imposition of port fees between the U.S. and China will impact global shipping, possibly leading to increased freight rates and disrupting the transportation of crucial commodities including oil.
Meanwhile, the U.S. will also engage in negotiations with China based on the Section 301 investigation initiated against Chinese shipping and continue its traditional cooperation with South Korea and Japan in revitalizing the American shipbuilding industry.
President Trump and Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping reached a one-year trade truce agreement in Seoul, South Korea last week. The pact has temporarily avoided an escalation of tensions between the U.S. and China and eased strained relations on a range of trade issues including semiconductors, rare earth minerals, and soybeans.
During an interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes” program on Sunday, President Trump stated that China used rare earth restrictions as a condition for the U.S. to lower tariffs, highlighting China’s control over rare earth resources for the past 25 to 30 years.
“They use the rare earths against us and we have other things to fight with. And we will use them,” Trump said, citing aircraft components as an example.
When asked about how he views China’s long-term anti-U.S. policies, such as the “One Hundred-Year” plan and intelligence warnings about Chinese infiltration of critical U.S. infrastructure, Trump responded that the U.S. also needs to retaliate and have a long-term vision. “We are also looking long-term,” he said.