Maersk downplays hit from US port fees as doubts swirl over anti-China plan
But months ahead of the charges coming into force, the global shipping giant Maersk insists that it will be able to avoid making that decision, casting further doubt over the US' ability to curtail the dominance of China's shipbuilders.
Maersk will not raise prices for its clients due to the US port fees; nor will it exclude Chinese shipyards and shipbuilders from consideration when ordering future vessels, according to Silvia Ding, the company's Greater China president.
'Maersk has 10 per cent of its fleet that will be subject to the port fee, and we can reassign our vessels to avoid the extra cost,' she told the Post on Wednesday on the sidelines of the 2025 China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing.
Ding added that Maersk would consider multiple factors when placing shipbuilding orders, including cost and technical requirements.
The comments are the latest sign that the port fees – which are due to come into force in October – may have a more limited impact than some initially thought, after several moves by US officials to scale back the policy amid industry backlash.
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