US targets China ships, operators with millions of dollars in new port charges

Cosco container vessel at the Port of Oakland. (Photo: Port of Oakland) In a major retaliatory move against China, the United States is proposing expensive charges that could add millions of dollars in costs for ocean container lines and other carriers calling U.S. ports. The proposal by the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), published Friday in the Federal Register, sets fees as high as $1.5 million per U.S. port call for ships built in China and $500,000 for a vessel operator with even a single Chinese-built ship in its fleet, or on order with a China shipyard….