Post
Conversation
![](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="73" height="73"><rect fill-opacity="0"/></svg>)
![David Watson 🥑](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="96" height="96"><rect fill-opacity="0"/></svg>)
Post your reply
Most ships call at 3 ports per voyage to the US, so this is a tax of ~$3M on $10-15M in revenue per trip.
Even if the ship calling in the U.S. wasn’t built in China. a fee of $500k to $1M would apply to any ship whose operator has even one Chinese-built vessel in their fleet (that's effectively all of them except the small Jones Act fleets).
The US doesn't make large container ships, but Korea and Japan do, so shipbuilders in those countries and carriers operating ships from there would appear to be the real winners here.
The other winner would be Canadian rail carriers and ports, as a lot of US-bound freight will attempt to divert to Prince Rupert and Vancouver and then rail into Chicago and other points east. Those ports are often congested as is, so they won't be able to absorb much capacity.
COSCO, the state owned ocean carrier has grown into the largest container carrier on the transpacific, and would appear to be the most direct target of this proposed rule.
The US Jones Act carrier Matson would benefit, as all their ships are made in the US and would not be subject to the fees. I'm a little surprised their stock hasn't bounced, but this is why I don't invest in public stocks. The news must've already been priced in.
The USTR is calling for public comment until March 24, at which point there will be a public hearing on the proposal.
I'm curious how ocean carriers would pass through the fees. Those who can will almost certainly reconfigure their networks so their Chinese made ships sail on other trade lanes, moving their Korean and Japanese ships to the US trades.
Quote
Scott Lincicome
@scottlincicome
Among the proposals buried in USTR's new Sec 301 action against Chinese shipbuilding policy is a "mini-Jones Act" for international shipping. (Currently the JA applies to only domestic shipping.)
As usual, the "solution" to the law's failures is simply to Jones Act even harder.
Show more
Cosco deploy’s all neo Panamax or Ulta large ships. Avg 15,000 TEU per ship. So let’s say 7500 40’s. 2 ports. $2m.
- in 7500, out 7500, lots of empties. So $130 per box. (Yes a lot of room in #).
- Call it the BWC charge. “Because We Can”
- maybe not..
“Won’t the Chinese just retaliate by charging $1mm fee per port call by US made ships in Chinese ports?” :)
Also flies against the President’s goal of boosting exports. One thing for containerships, but it makes no sense for dry bulk, tankers, LNG/LPG…
As you note, this will do little to help the U.S. and mostly just helps Japan/Korea.
Who makes the engines for Chinese container ships?..are they made in China, or are they from Waertsila or other western supplier?
Ocean carriers should respond by diversifying their business. Now is a good time for Maersk, MSC and others to accelerate their strategic plan to expand in supply chain services.
Love the fact that you appear on my feed a couple of times per year with my interesting stats.
Yeah, but having to email five bullet points for a week of work is a national crisis
Elon's got feds writing weekly homework, but the real plot twist? A million-dollar cover charge for every Chinese-made ship docking in the U.S.
it’s gonna get bumpy. This is an unproductive expense for business, a de facto custom duty.
But US does only 0.2% .. China is 51%.. about 32% is Japan and South Korea.. and even Japanese and Korean ships will have Chinese parts.. how do they define "made", maybe % of local component.. this will hurt US Trade badly..
Couldn’t China just hit back by slapping a $1 million fee on every U.S.-built ship docking at their ports ?
You've given no indication what the current and standard pricing is for a port of call worldwide. There is no reference point to understand any of the numbers you are relaying without having a median or baseline of what ports of call cost per voyage, only that most ships call at
Show more
I would hate that. I'm an exporter not an importer, but that is a dumb shit rule.
Just repeal the f'ing jones act
Saw that. Jaw dropped/ at first I thought it was a parody. They aren’t - FAFO! You are correct. It was def overshadowed.
Too bad the USA can’t build cargo ships anymore, thanks to neoliberal outsourcing of ship manufacturing to China for the past three decades.
Maybe now that Trump's own federal agency heads are responding to Musk's autistic prank email by telling their people not to respond, thus making DOGE look like even more of a joke and emboldening the Swamp resistance, people will notice the smaller MAGA wins.
Democratic members of congress harass a federal employee and ask if he was hired by Elon Musk if he is allowed to be there and accuses him of not being a qualified or an employee because he denies them entry into a building.
Federal email crippled after tens of thousands of respondents hit reply-all.
They’re gonna have to carve out exemptions or something. Prices are going up and how fast can capacity be ramped up?
Are we just going to annihilate US consumers to reignite producers?
It's a good thing there's no way for businesses to segregate ships serving US ports into a separate subsidiary from one which owns the Chinese hulls.
I remember when I was young, I worked at a sales girl at a department store store. Every week I had a review. Government workers get over it.
I wonder how many employees are using Grok to generate their five bulletin points.
Hmm, I wonder how that will affect the cost of shipping a container from China to the US (and consequently, the retail price of all the stuff that would be shipped inside that container).
GIF
And this fee will presumably be added to the gross cost of the gross cost of the goods increasing the price to US consumers and stoking US inflation?
Here’s what could get more expensive with Trump’s new tariffs.
This is great for out Pacific Allies. A real gain and thank you to both Japan & South Korea for thier taking defesne seriously.
Great info Ryan! I am not sure how the American Government hasn’t woke up yet to the fact that they need to build an American carrier. Europe and Asia have been controling this part of International Trade for a long time and US is powerless and extremely exposed to it.
Please Elon put this man in charge, your ideas all seem like they’ll bring the fall of the US much quicker! Good riddance
This kind of shitty economic vandalism is why the stockmarket is the toilet.
Ryan Petersen, it sounds like you’re always trying to make the problems affecting your business or industry everyone else’s problem. Everyone’s trying to deal with the chaos unleashed by the Trump admin, so you guys should sort it out.
The US is going down the toilet and its sheeple are actually cheering it on!
Damn the delusion is strong with this lot :D
Are these the ships/ shipments/ shippers that Mitch McConnell makes his corrupt 
money from?
money from?