China hits first US-linked ship with $1.7m “special port fee” in trade retaliation | investingLive

China has formally begun levying a “special port fee” on vessels linked to the United States, opening a new front in its trade confrontation with Washington.

I posted on the new levy yesterday:

Following up now, info derived from a Caixin report.

At 6 p.m. local time on Tuesday, the Matson Waikiki, a U.S.-flagged container ship carrying 4,870 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), docked at Shanghai Port — becoming the first vessel to face the new levy. With a net tonnage of 30,224, the ship is subject to a charge of about 12.09 million yuan (US$1.7 million) under the fee schedule unveiled by Beijing earlier this month.

Chinese transport officials confirmed to domestic outlet Caixin that the vessel is liable for the new charge, although it remains unclear whether payment has been made. The fee targets ships “linked to the United States” and marks China’s latest retaliatory measure in response to Washington’s escalating trade restrictions.

Analysts view the move as Beijing signalling it can extend its countermeasures beyond tariffs and investment controls into the maritime and logistics domain, potentially raising shipping costs for U.S.-related trade flows through Chinese ports.