In agreement with ECSA, the Italian Confederation is preparing for the hearing organized in Washington: “Many Italian ships at risk”
Over 80% of global goods sailing by sea, equivalent to approximately 12.5 billion tonnes each year
As expected, the conclusion of the work of the U.S. White House Trade Representative (started in 2024 under the Biden administration) on measures to slow down Chinese growth in shipping and naval engineering has created confusion among European shipowners.
Significant port taxes
“Significant port taxes affecting Chinese or international operators using Chinese-built vessels. In summary: up to $1,000,000 for each entry into a US port of a vessel operated by a Chinese operator, regardless of the vessel’s country of construction; up to $1,500,000 for each Chinese-built vessel entering a U.S. port; up to $1,000,000 for each entry into a US port of a vessel managed by an operator that has ships on order from Chinese shipyards (based on the percentage on order from Chinese shipyards in the following 24 months)” summarized a note from Confitarma to associates.
Draft measure
With it Luca Sisto, general director of the Confindustria association of Italian shipowners, recalled that to discuss this draft measure “The USTR will hold a public hearing at the International Trade Commission in Washington DC on March 24th.
Contact with the other international associations
Confitarma, as happened during the fact-finding investigation by the Ustr last May (when Ecsa with the measures still in embryo tried to dissuade the US administration from the direction taken, ed.), is in close contact with the other international associations – ICS, ECSA and Intertanko first and foremost – to outline a coordinated response by the shipping industry which highlights, first of all, the inconsistency of the measures contemplated with the same interests seafarers of the United States.”
The statement
This is the statement sent to SHIPPING ITALY on the topic by the president of Confitarma, Mario Zanetti, on the conclusion of the investigation by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) relating to Chinese trade policies: “We have been following the USTR investigation for some time and with great attention, the conclusions of which certainly cause concern. The hope is that it is exclusively a strategy of deterrence, avoiding that it translates into an escalation of protectionist measures.”
Over 80% of global goods sailing by sea
For the number one of Confitarma “free trade and freedom of navigation represent fundamental pillars of our civilization. Over 80% of global goods sailing by sea, equivalent to approximately 12.5 billion tonnes each year.Returning to policies of duties and barriers would be unthinkable, with serious consequences for the entire economic chain.
The interests at stake are enormous. We are not just talking about the shipping industry, which is notoriously capital intensive, but about the entire industrial system and, consequently, about citizens, especially European ones, with inevitable repercussions also for the United States itself”.
The new US measures
The new US measures risk having significant impacts on Italian shipping companies: “To give a concrete example, the Italian shipping industry alone has ongoing orders for over 3.2 billion euros in new ships.
Quite a few of these units – especially in certain categories – are necessarily built in China, due to the lack of competitive alternatives. It is clear that the investments already made risk being seriously penalised
Source : Shipping Italy
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