Tensions between the world's two largest economies escalated at the weekend as China slammed a "self-damaging" proposal by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) to impose steep port fees on Chinese-built vessels and related operators,

Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen explains that there's "pretty much no way getting around this" for most container lines.

The U.S. trade war with China is escalating beyond tariffs with a plan by the Trump administration to impose steep fees on Chinese shipping companies and any Chinese-built vessels that enter U.S. ports.

A vessel operator of China to be charged a fee on the international maritime transport being provided (a) at a rate of up to $1,000,000 per entrance of any vessel of that operator to a U.S. port; or (b) per entrance of any vessel of that operator to a U.S. port, at a rate of up to $1,000 per net ton of the vessel’s capacity.

SINGAPORE - Shares of mainboard-listed Yangzijiang Shipbuilding tumbled for a second straight day after the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) office proposed imposing a fee on Chinese-built vessels entering US ports.

The US has sent shockwaves through world shipping by proposing big new port fees on Chinese ships calling at its ports, as well as Chinese-built vessels operated by non-Chinese companies. The United States Trade Representative (USTR) said on Friday that Chinese-owned vessels will pay up to $1m for port calls.

The Trump administration is proposing fees on the use of China's commercial ships that it says could help counter the country's maritime dominance.

The U.S. Trade Representative's office has proposed charging up to $1.5 million for Chinese-built vessels entering U.S. ports as part of its investigation into China's growing domination of the global shipbuilding,