Analysts call for competitive shipbuilding sector to advance global trade

ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – Analysts have underscored the need for strategic approach to boost the competitiveness and ensure sustainable growth in shipbuilding sectors without disrupting global trade.

The analysts gave the advice on Thursday during the 2025 global virtual sessions, which analysed challenges of the shipbuilding industry.

They spoke against the backdrop of implemented measures by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), on China’s shipbuilding and related industries to curb dominance in global maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors.

These implemented measures include imposing fees on Chinese-flagged ship operators, operators using Chinese-built ships and those ordering ships from Chinese shipyards with charges ranging up to 1.5 million dollars per vessel or voyage.

Such entails operators using U.S. built ships, would receive fee reductions of up to 1 million dollars per voyage among other things.

They also argued that the proposed measures of punitive tariffs, port fees on Chinese-built ships and shipping restrictions could disrupt global supply chains, raise logistics costs and ultimately harm the U.S. trade.

Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said that policies that adversely affects maritime transportation would inevitably reverberate throughout the trade sector.

He noted that such policy could make American goods too expensive internationally, overwhelm major U.S. ports and force up global freight rates and inflation at home.

He explained that such fees could increase operating costs for logistics and supply chain, leading to higher prices for imported goods in the U.S. and diminishing the international competitiveness of its exported products.

“The levies, once implemented are certain to reshape global supply chain landscape; many firms may seek ships built by other countries, yet supply will be insufficient as shipbuilding cycle is very long.

“Alternatively, they may opt to bypass American ports, which will further weaken the scale and risk resistance capacity of the country’s supply chain,” he said.

He noted that manufacturing industry in the U.S. had been on downward trend, adding that a single policy on imposing massive fees on China-linked ships was unlikely to boost the U.S. shipbuilding industry.

He also said that the U.S. had no advantage on price, technology or efficiency, even if compared to Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia.

Joe Kramek, CEO of the World Shipping Council, described what the USTR had proposed as backward-looking, retrospective, multi-million dollar per port call fee that would not work.

“It will only serve to penalise U.S. consumers, businesses, particularly farmers, as well as raise prices and threaten jobs,” he said.

Meanwhile, spokesperson from China’s Commerce Ministry, He Yadong, said that the charging fees on Chinese ships entering U.S. ports would disrupt global supply chains and backfire on the U.S. economy and employment.

“If the U.S. insists on imposing port fees, it will drive up global shipping costs and disrupt the stability of global supply chains.

“Such measures will also increase domestic inflationary pressures on the U.S., weaken the global competitiveness of U.S. goods and harm U.S. consumers and businesses,” he said. (NAN)