US to slap 100% tariffs on Chinese goods as trade war flares anew

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China will slap port fees on U.S.-owned, operated, built or flagged vessels on Tuesday in response to U.S. port fees on China-bound vessels, China’s Ministry of Transport said on Friday.

Later that day, US President Donald Trump said he was raising tariffs on Chinese exports to the US by 100% and imposing export controls on critical software in retaliation for China’s export restrictions on rare earth minerals.

There are relatively few U.S.-built or U.S.-flagged vessels doing international trade, but China will impose levies on companies held by U.S.-domiciled investment funds by applying levies to companies with 25% or more of its shares or board seats, analysts said.

“It casts a wide net and many public shipping companies could be affected by a listing on a U.S. stock exchange,” said Eric Brookhausen, marine research and consulting manager at shipbroking firm Putin & Partners.

“The potential impact is significant.”

On Tuesday, ships built in China — or managed or owned by Chinese entities — will also be required to pay the fee at their first port of call in the United States.

Some vessels to pay fees to both China and the US

US-based shipping company Matson told customers it was subject to the new chain port fees and had no plans to change the service schedule.

About LinkedIn, more than 25 percent of its shares are owned by U.S. entities, except for CMA-CGM’s U.S.-based President Lines and Israel-based Zim, said Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime, a container shipping consultancy.

The fees in both China and the U.S. will apply to 100 vessels owned by Poseidon’s vessels and chartered by container lines, Jensen said.

Maersk Line Ltd, APL, Zim and Cespan did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the fees.

Oil tanker operators are mostly based outside the United States, but could face China’s port fees because they are listed in the United States, analysts said.

For example, Scorpio Tankers stng.n has the largest and youngest fleet in the industry and is US registered. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Chinese port fees have “thrown the tanker market into turmoil,” Brookhausen said in a client note, adding that many of the vessels that could be affected are already on their way to China.

Vertexa’s analysis showed that 43 supertankers carrying liquefied petroleum gas, or 10% of the global fleet, would be affected by China’s port fees, said Samantha Hartke, who led the US analysis for the energy research firm.

Ships owned or operated by a Chinese entity will face a flat fee of $50 per net tonnage per voyage to the United States. China-owned carrier Cosco 601919.ss, including its OOCL fleet, is the most exposed with fees of about $2 billion in 2026, analysts said. Cosco had no immediate comment.

China calls US tariffs discriminatory

The U.S. fees on Chinese-bound vessels are part of a broader effort to curb domestic shipbuilding and China’s naval and merchant shipping power, according to an investigation by the U.S. Trade Representative.

“This is clearly discriminatory and seriously harms the legitimate interests of China’s shipping industry, seriously affects the stability of the global supply chain, and seriously undermines the international economic and trade order,” the Chinese ministry said.

The USTR office did not respond to a request for comment.

Over the past two decades, China has catapulted itself to the number 1 position in the world of shipbuilding, with its largest shipyards handling both commercial and military projects.

The fees announced by China, like those put in place by the United States, “add more complexity and cost to the global network that keeps moving goods and connecting economies, hurting their exporters, producers and consumers at a time when global trade is already under pressure.”

Rates increase for three years

For U.S. bound vessels at Chinese ports, the rate will be 400 yuan (.156.13) per net metric ton, the Chinese Ministry of Transport said.

It will rise to 640 yuan (89.81) from April 17, 2026 and 880 yuan (3,123.52) from April 17, 2027.

For ships calling at Chinese ports from April 17, 2028, the charge will be 1,120 yuan (7,157.16) per net metric ton.

Tensions between China and the United States have deepened since September, with the two superpowers struggling to move beyond their trade tariff war.

Retaliatory tariffs in the US-China trade war this year have sharply curbed Chinese imports of US agricultural and energy products.