Seatrade Maritime News: US tanker trades – anything but business as usual

April 28, 2025 The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has rowed back on the scale of port fees that are to be levied on tankers owned or built in China calling at US ports from October this year, following a two-day period of consultation in mid-April. Various exclusions have eased the pressure on tanker owners but, says New York broker Poten & Partners in its latest market report, it is possible that the USTR rules could change again. Poten points out that exclusions in the revised draft now include the removal of the cumulative factor that would have clobbered foreign owners with some Chinese-built ships in their fleets, or with ships on order at Chinese yards. The requirement to build tankers to ship an increasing volume of the country’s oil exports in US yards has also been removed.

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