By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) – A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Monday urged President Donald Trump to hold fast to trade remedies proposed by his administration to rebuild U.S. shipbuilding and not offer concessions when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Democratic Senators Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Mark Kelly of Arizona, as well as Republicans Tim Scott of South Carolina and Todd Young of Indiana, told Trump in a letter sent on Monday that China’s decades-long effort to “decimate American shipbuilding” demanded the use of U.S. trade measures to their fullest extent.
When they met in South Korea in October, Trump and Xi agreed to pause tit-for-tat fees on each other’s ships for a year, staving off an estimated $3.2 billion annually in fees for large Chinese-built vessels sailing to U.S. ports. The U.S. fees will resume on November 10, unless a further pause is agreed.
The U.S. first announced its port fees in April 2025 to help loosen China’s grip on the global maritime industry after a U.S. probe concluded that China’s domination of the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors was driven by unfair practices.
Trump will meet Xi in China on Thursday and Friday for a summit dominated by the Iran war, which has further strained U.S.-Chinese ties. China remains the biggest buyer of Iranian oil despite pressure from the Trump administration.
“The United States is at an inflection point and cannot cede additional ground to the People’s Republic of China,” the senators wrote in the letter, first reported by Reuters. “We urge you to stand strong during these negotiations as we work together to enact trade remedies and advance the SHIPS for America Act to level the playing field.”
White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said Trump remained committed to strengthening U.S. shipbuilding, including through a $43 billion plan to build a new class of Navy warships, but did not comment on the administration’s plans for the U.S. port fees or SHIPS legislation.
The SHIPS Act, introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives last year, would provide tax credits for investments in domestic shipyards and production, and authorize $2.5 billion in funding over a decade for domestic shipbuilding projects, among other measures.
China’s share of the $150 billion global shipbuilding industry soared to over 50% in 2023 from around 5% in 2000, largely aided by government subsidies, while once dominant U.S. shipbuilders have seen their share dwindle below 1%. South Korea and Japan are the next biggest shipbuilders.
The threat of U.S. fees briefly led to a 25% drop in Chinese shipyard orders last spring, although orders rebounded later in the year after the fees were postponed, the senators wrote.
“The sudden decrease in Chinese shipping orders shows that when your Administration acts on this issue, the global maritime industry pays attention,” the senators wrote, calling the port fees “an urgent, critical step needed to grow the U.S. industrial base, expand the economy and protect national security.”
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by David Gregorio and Rod Nickel)
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