China and the US suspended port fees on each other’s vessels, a sign the two nations’ fragile trade truce was holding.
Washington had imposed levies on Chinese-built or -operated vessels, saying it was intended to protect US shipping and shipbuilding, leading to Beijing’s retaliation. But tensions have eased, with China recently pausing export controls on vital minerals and the US reducing tariffs.
The end to the port fees is welcome, but the US is still highly exposed to China’s industrial might: “Last year, US shipyards built just five oceangoing vessels,” Semafor’s Andy Browne noted. “China built as many as 1,700.” Any trade fight is “unwinnable” for Washington, he said, if Beijing starts weaponizing its industrial strengths.