China announced Monday that it would suspend “special port fees” on US vessels for one year, mirroring a reciprocal pause on levies targeting Chinese ships by Washington as the fragile trade truce between the two superpowers continues to materialize.
The suspension of the port fees, which applies to ships operated by or built in the United States visiting Chinese ports, began at 13:01 local time (0501 GMT) on Monday, according to a transport ministry statement.
🚢 Reciprocal Relief in Shipping
The United States and China had agreed to walk back some punitive measures following the meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump last month in South Korea. At their peak, the retaliatory duties had reached prohibitive triple-digit levels, severely hampering trade between the world’s two largest economies.
In a related move affecting the global shipping industry, Beijing also announced it would suspend sanctions against five US subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean, one of South Korea’s largest shipbuilders, for one year, effective from November 10.
China’s commerce ministry explicitly linked the suspension to the US halting its port fees on Chinese-built and operated ships. “In light of this (US suspension)… China has decided to suspend the relevant measures” for one year, the ministry stated.
The sanctions—which banned Chinese organizations and individuals from cooperating with the five US Hanwha subsidiaries—were originally imposed in October. They were a response to a US government “Section 301” investigation that had deemed Beijing’s dominance of the shipbuilding industry to be unreasonable.
Furthermore, a planned probe by the transport ministry into whether the Section 301 investigation impacted China’s shipbuilding industry’s “security and development interests” has also been shelved for one year.
🧪 Fentanyl Precursors and Export Controls
In another significant step toward implementing recent agreements, China’s commerce ministry stated on Monday that it has added more than a dozen fentanyl precursors to a list of controlled exports destined for the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Although the Chinese statement did not explicitly reference recent negotiations, the White House had stated on November 1 that Beijing agreed to “stop the shipment of certain designated chemicals to North America,” calling it a “significant measure to end the flow of fentanyl.” Washington has long accused Beijing of failing to effectively curb the flow of these deadly chemicals that underpin the US drug crisis.
📅 Broader Trade Thaw Continues
These measures are the latest signs of a broader normalization in economic ties:
- Tariffs Extended: On Wednesday, China announced it would extend the suspension of additional tariffs on US goods for one year, keeping them at 10 percent, and suspend some tariffs on soybeans and other US agricultural products.
- Critical Metals: On Sunday, China suspended an export ban on gallium, germanium, and antimony, metals crucial for modern technology.
- Technology Restrictions: Beijing also agreed to halt for one year restrictions on the export of rare earths technology.
- US Action: Washington, in turn, agreed to suspend export restrictions for one year on affiliates of blacklisted foreign companies in which they held at least a 50 percent stake.