BEIJING/LOS ANGELES — The United States and China on Tuesday began charging additional port fees on ocean shipping firms that move everything from holiday toys to crude oil, making the high seas a key front in the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

China said it had started to collect the special charges on US-owned, operated, built, or flagged vessels but clarified that Chinese-built ships would be exempted from the levies.

In details published by state broadcaster CCTV, China spelled out specific provisions on exemptions, which also include empty ships entering Chinese shipyards for repair.

The China-imposed extra port fees would be collected at the first port of entry on a single voyage or for the first five voyages within a year, following an annual billing cycle beginning on April 17.

Early this year, US President Donald J. Trump’s administration announced plans to levy the fees on China-linked ships to loosen the country’s grip on the global maritime industry and bolster US shipbuilding.

An investigation during former President Joseph R. Biden’s administration concluded China uses unfair policies and practices to dominate the global maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors, clearing the way for those penalties.

China hit back last week, saying it would impose its own port fees on US-linked vessels from the same day the US fees took effect.

Analysts expect China-owned container carrier COSCO to be most affected, shouldering nearly half of that segment’s expected $3.2-billion cost from those fees in 2026.

In a related move, Beijing also imposed sanctions on Tuesday against five US-linked subsidiaries of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean which it said had “assisted and supported” a US probe into Chinese trade practices.

China also launched an investigation into how the US probe affected its shipping and shipbuilding industries.

FREIGHT FRIGHT
“This tit-for-tat symmetry locks both economies into a spiral of maritime taxation that risks distorting global freight flows,” Athens-based Xclusiv Shipbrokers Inc said in a research note.

A Shanghai-based consultant who advises global companies on trade with China said the new fees may not be very disruptive to the industry and any rising costs probably would be captured in higher prices.

“What are we going to do? Stop shipping? Trade is already pretty disrupted with the US, but companies are finding a way,” the consultant said, asking to remain anonymous as he was not authorized to speak with the media.

The US announced last Friday a carve-out for long-term charterers of China-operated vessels carrying US ethane and LPG, deferring the port fees for them through Dec. 10.

But ship tracking company Vortexa identified 45 LPG-carrying VLGCs — 11% of the total fleet — that would still be subject to China’s port fee, its Americas analyst Samantha Hartke said.

Clarksons Research said in a report that the new port fees could affect oil tankers accounting for 15% of global capacity. Jefferies analyst Omar Nokta estimated that 13% of crude tankers and 11% of container ships in the global fleet would be affected.

RETALIATION
In a reprisal against China curbing exports of critical minerals, Mr. Trump on Friday threatened to slap additional 100% tariffs on goods from China and put new export controls on “any and all critical software” by Nov. 1.

Administration officials hours later warned that countries voting in favor of a plan by the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from ocean shipping this week could face sanctions, port bans, or punitive vessel charges. China has publicly supported the IMO plan.

“The weaponization of both trade and environmental policy signals that shipping has moved from being a neutral conduit of global commerce to a direct instrument of statecraft,” Xclusiv said. 

Shares in Shanghai-listed COSCO rose more than 2% in early trading on Tuesday. The company said its board had approved a plan to buy back up to 1.5 billion yuan ($210.3 million) worth of its shares within the next three months to maintain corporate value and safeguard shareholder interest.

The shipping firm did not immediately respond to Reuters’ queries about the port fees. ($1 = 7.1337 Chinese yuan). — Reuters

WASHINGTON — US President Donald J. Trump, a self-proclaimed peacemaker who has campaigned for a Nobel Prize, finally got a camera-ready diplomatic victory on Monday as world leaders flew to Egypt for the signing of the ceasefire and hostage-release deal he brokered between Israel and Hamas.

But if lasting peace is to take root, analysts and diplomats say, Mr. Trump will have to maintain pressure on the man whose support he’ll need in the next phases of his plan: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

US presidents from Bill Clinton to Joseph R. Biden have found the strong-willed Israeli leader difficult to work with, and even Trump administration officials have been frustrated by some Israeli military strikes they see as undermining US policy.

But this month, Mr. Trump managed to push Mr. Netanyahu into accepting his framework for a broader peace deal while persuading other Middle Eastern countries to convince Hamas to return all the Israeli hostages, its key leverage in the war.

The work could get harder from here, however.

Israel and Hamas remain sharply divided over many aspects of Mr. Trump’s 20-point plan and, as Israel prepares for next year’s elections, Mr. Netanyahu’s approach may shift as he attempts to keep his right-wing coalition together.

“We’re entering a political year where everything is related to campaigns, and Netanyahu’s calculations may flip from caving to pressure to trying to ensure his political survival,” said Nimrod Goren, the president of Mitvim, an Israeli foreign policy think tank.

The strength of Mr. Trump’s peace plan, said the diplomats and analysts, is also its weakness.

The document at the heart of the deal leaves much undefined, and neither side actually agreed to the fine print of each term. That vagueness was key to getting both sides to sign on, but it also means some of the most difficult diplomatic work is just beginning.

Among the potential sticking points of Mr. Trump’s peace plan is an agreement that Hamas disarm and play no role in Gaza’s future administration. While Hamas agreed to Mr. Trump’s plan generally, the group’s official response made no mention of those specific terms, and Hamas leaders have indicated that they do in fact see a role for themselves in governing a post-war Gaza.

“There are any number of ways this could go sideways,” said Jon Alterman, a Middle East expert at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former State Department official.

“It’s hard to remember an international agreement that left so much to be worked out later.”

The Israeli embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A senior US official suggested that Mr. Trump had gained influence with Mr. Netanyahu in part by strongly supporting Israel on other important matters.

Mr. Trump’s first administration formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the disputed Golan Heights as part of the country, two things long sought by the Israeli government.

“One thing President Trump’s done with Israel … is that he’s not trying to be a middle-of-the-roader,” the US official said. “He’s basically stood shoulder to shoulder with Israel 100%. But because of that, he’s been able to help guide them in the right direction.”

A STERNER TRUMP
Mr. Trump has a mixed record when it comes to applying political pressure on Mr. Netanyahu.

In July, Israel bombed the Syrian defense ministry in Damascus even as the US had made a point of expanding ties with the new Syrian government. The US president gave political cover in Gaza to Mr. Netanyahu for months amid mounting humanitarian concerns among European and Arab allies.

But in recent weeks, a sterner Mr. Trump has emerged. He forced Mr. Netanyahu to call the leader of Qatar to apologize after a failed bombing raid targeting Hamas negotiators in that country in September. Ultimately, he muscled Mr. Netanyahu into signing onto his 20-point plan despite the Israeli leader’s misgivings.

At the moment, said Mr. Alterman, the Middle East expert, Mr. Trump can likely exert leverage over Mr. Netanyahu given the US president’s significant popularity in Israel.

“Trump’s greatest leverage is he’s much more politically popular in Israel than Netanyahu,” Mr. Alterman said, “and he can either support Netanyahu’s political future or sabotage it.”

At the speech before the Israeli parliament on Monday, Mr. Trump playfully poked at the Israeli leader in ways that indicated he did not feel the need to treat Mr. Netanyahu with special deference.

“Well, see, now you can be a little bit nicer, Bibi, because you’re not at war anymore,” Mr. Trump said to laughs.

But next year’s elections could change Mr. Netanyahu’s political calculations in ways that are difficult to predict.

Supporters of right-wing politicians Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich could in theory threaten Mr. Netanyahu’s governing coalition if they are sufficiently angered by the decision to halt military operations against Hamas.

Analysts warn that foot-dragging by the Palestinian group over disarming could lead right-wing elements of the coalition to pressure Mr. Netanyahu to resume military operations in Gaza, effectively scuttling Mr. Trump’s deal.

“We are troubled with the fact that Hamas still, today, declares it will stay in power in Gaza,” Simcha Rothman, a member of the Religious Zionism party and of Netanyahu’s governing coalition, told Reuters on Monday.

“We are not happy with any deal that is not total surrender of Hamas … We will not accept any partial victory.”

Another issue that could prove an irritant: a provision in the peace plan that admits the possibility of a future Palestinian state, which analysts say most Israelis would struggle to accept after Hamas’ cross-border attack of Oct. 7, 2023.

Dan Shapiro, a former US ambassador to Israel, said that if government and opposition politicians campaign heavily against the creation of such a state, it could limit the willingness of Arab countries to push Hamas to fulfill its obligations under Mr. Trump’s deal.

“That was a very important inclusion to get the support of the Arab states to do their part,” Mr. Shapiro said.

“If the political discourse is a full-on rejection of a Palestinian state for all time, I think that could color the enthusiasm of the Arab parties to play the parts that they need to play.” — Reuters

SYDNEY — Australia will make a second billion-dollar payment to boost US nuclear submarine shipyards soon, Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy said in Washington on Tuesday, ahead of an official visit by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese next week.

The AUKUS (Australia-United Kingdom-United States) agreement to transfer nuclear-powered submarines to Australia is being reviewed by the Pentagon, although Australia has expressed confidence the deal, which also includes Britain, will proceed.

In its first phase, Australia has pledged $3 billion dollars to boost US submarine production rates, to later allow the sale of three Virginia submarines to Canberra, with a 2025 deadline for the first $2 billion.

“We’ve made a billion dollars. The plan is to provide another billion dollars shortly,” Mr. Conroy told reporters in Washington, where he said he is meeting with Trump administration and defense industry officials.

Mr. Albanese will travel to Washington next week for an official visit and his first formal meeting with US President Donald J. Trump, with the AUKUS defense partnership expected to be a focus of talks.

Defense Minister Richard Marles told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday that Australia was contributing to a Pentagon review of AUKUS and had “a sense of when this will conclude,” without disclosing the timing.

Australia is shifting to a model of defense co-development and co-production with the United States, including for the manufacture of guided weapons, and Mr. Albanese would highlight this to Mr. Trump, Mr. Conroy said.

Australia expects to manufacture up to 4,000 Lockheed Martin guided missiles annually from a new factory to begin production by the end of the year, including supplying US defense needs, he said in a television interview with Sky News Australia.

Australia is also working with the United States and Lockheed Martin to develop a longer-range Precision Strike Missile reaching “in excess of a thousand kilometers,” he added.

“This is one example of us shifting to a co-design, co-development, co-production, co-sustainment model where we work in partnership with the United States and deepen the industrial base of both countries,” he said. — Reuters