Trump signed an order on Wednesday to restore U.S. shipbuilding and reduce China’s control over the global shipping industry. The next day, his administration covered up the measures by blocking domestic exporters and shipowners serving the Great Lakes, the Caribbean Sea and the U.S. territories.
Marine shipping companies’ quarrels, 80% of global trade, are the latest in a growing trade war between China and the United States, pushing each other’s import taxes to more than 100%.
China’s National Shipbuilding Association expressed “extreme indignation and firm opposition” to the U.S. measures and joined the protests of the government and state ship owners.
“The decline in the U.S. shipbuilding industry is a result of its protectionism and has nothing to do with China,” the shipyard said in a statement.
It warned that U.S. restrictions would undermine the global maritime system, causing a surge in transportation costs, further boosting U.S. inflation and harming the interests of the American people. “We call on the international maritime industry to jointly resist such short-sighted American behavior and jointly maintain a fair market environment,” the industry body said. The government protested on Friday against the “discriminatory” steps, urging Washington to “correct wrongdoing.”
The Ministry of Commerce vowed in a statement to “resolutely take necessary measures to safeguard our own interests” and said it “fully reveals the nature of its unilateral and protectionist policies and is typical non-market practice.”
