SHIPS for America Act another unexpected headache for shippers: Xeneta
The re-introduction of the SHIPS for America Act last week is yet another example of the complexity and uncertainty facing ocean container shippers in 2025, according to Norway-based ocean and air freight market intelligence Xeneta.
With yet more fees to consider when importing goods into the United States, taking decisive action on supply chain cost and resilience becomes increasingly difficult, it noted.
The re-introduction of the SHIPS for America Act last week is yet another example of the complexity and uncertainty facing ocean container shippers, Xeneta said. With yet more fees to consider when importing goods into the US, taking decisive action on supply chain cost and resilience is tougher, it noted. There are questions now over how carriers will pass on the cost of the USTR fees, it said.
In February, the office of the US trade representative (USTR) announced proposals for fees on Chinese carriers and ships entering US ports. This included a fee based on the percentage of a carrier's order book being built in Chinese yards.
However, when revised proposals were announced on April 18, this element was not included. That relief, however, may be short-lived as the SHIPS for America Act—a completely separate scheme to the USTR port fees—was reintroduced last week and now includes a fee to be levied against carriers (of any nationality) based on the percentage of order book being built in certain Chinese yards, Xeneta observed.
This fee was not included when the Act was first tabled in December last year.
There are huge questions now over how carriers will pass on the cost of the USTR fees, and therefore, shippers should be ready to push back against these surcharges, Xeneta said in a note.
The fact they must now also factor in surcharges relating to the SHIPS for America Act means the potential additional costs are even higher.
While the financial implication of the SHIPS for America Act is lower than the USTR fees, it is yet another cost to be absorbed, Xeneta said.
The complexities in the way different carriers and alliances will be exposed to the fees should be factored by shippers when procuring their next freight contract. Striking a low rate may not look quite so appealing if your chosen carrier is heavily exposed to these additional fees or surcharges, it noted.
Section 415 of the SHIPS for America Act states 1 per cent of goods from China (measured by tonnage) must be transported on US-built ships, starting five years after the data of enactment. This requirement increases 1 per cent each year to 10 per cent. Any shipper failing to comply would be fined an amount that is greater than the difference of the cost for shipping on a US-built ship versus cost for shipping on a flag of convenience ship.
It is unclear how this would work in practice, but, if it does come to pass, it would be a financial as well as administrative headache for the shipper, Xeneta added.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
35 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
In Trump-Xi phone call, China urges US to 'carefully handle' Taiwan issue
Chinese President Xi Jinping told his US counterpart Donald Trump that the two should "correct the course" of bilateral relations, in a Thursday phone call reported by state media. The talks took place at Trump's request, the Xinhua news agency said without elaborating, and come as Washington and Beijing clash over areas such as trade and student visas. Xi told Trump that "to correct the course of the big ship of China-US ties, it is necessary for both sides to set the right direction, and eliminate all kinds of disruptions, even sabotage, which is especially important", according to Xinhua. ALSO READ | Amid US-China tariff row, Donald Trump dials Xi Jinping The call follows officials from the world's two biggest economies accusing each other of jeopardising a trade war truce agreed last month in Geneva. "The US side should take a realistic view of the progress made and withdraw its negative initiatives against China," Xi told Trump according to a readout from state broadcaster CCTV. He said the Geneva talks showed that "dialogue and cooperation are the only right choice", and insisted China had abided by the agreements made in Switzerland. But the Chinese president warned Trump that Washington should tread carefully over the issue of self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory. "Xi emphasised that the United States should handle the Taiwan issue carefully to avoid a small number of 'Taiwan independence' separatists dragging China and the United States into a dangerous situation of conflict and confrontation," CCTV said. The Chinese leader's comments come after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Beijing's military was "rehearsing for the real deal" and preparing for a potential invasion of Taiwan.
Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
New York Stock Exchange latest update: Stablecoin issuer Circle is now live on NYSE. Check symbol, share price
Stablecoins are a fast-growing corner of the cryptocurrency industry that offer a buffer against volatility because they are pegged to real-world assets, like U.S. dollars or gold. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads FAQs Circle Internet Group on Thursday made debut on US Stock Market. Circle Internet Group issues USDC, a stablecoin that can be traded at a one-to-one ratio for U.S. dollars, and EURC, which can similarly be traded for euros. Interest in Circle's initial public offering is high. The company's underwriters priced the offering at $31 per share Wednesday, up from an expected price of $27 to $28. The number of shares being sold was raised to 34 million from 32 million. Circle will trade on the NYSE under the symbol 'CRCL.'Stablecoins are a fast-growing corner of the cryptocurrency industry that offer a buffer against volatility because they are pegged to real-world assets, like U.S. dollars or gold. That makes them a much more reliable means of conducting commercial transactions than other forms of dominant player in the stablecoin field is El Salvador-based Tether, which has the stablecoin known as USDT that currently has about $150 billion in circulation. USDC is the second most popular stablecoin market cap, with about $60 billion in said in a regulatory filing that USDC has been used for more than '$25 trillion in onchain transactions' since its launch in the company has seen tremendous growth, going from just $15 million in 2020 to $1.7 billion in issuers make profits by collecting the interest on the assets they hold in reserve to back their stablecoins. Circle said USDC is backed by 'cash, short-dated US Treasuries and overnight US Treasury repurchase agreements with leading global banks.'Circle's IPO comes amid a push by the Trump administration and the crypto industry to pass legislation that would regulate how stablecoin issuers operate in the U.S. A Senate bill advanced last month with bipartisan is also growing competition in the stablecoin field. A crypto enterprise partly owned by the Trump family just launched its own stablecoin, said its long track record and values – the company says its mission statement is 'to raise global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of value' – will help it stand apart in the field.A1. Circle Internet Group issues Stablecoin.A2. USDC is a stablecoin that can be traded at a one-to-one ratio for U.S. dollars, and EURC, which can similarly be traded for euros.
Indian Express
37 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Niti Aayog asks if think-tanks should work on new data as MoSPI says alternative data can be used in official stats
Even as the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) presses ahead with the use of alternative sources of data in India's official statistics, the NITI Aayog has asked if the ministry should even be engaging with such data sets. Speaking on Thursday at the start of a two-day workshop on 'Using Alternate Data Sources and Frontier Technologies for Policy Making', NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Suman Bery questioned if these new areas should be a priority for MoSPI and cautioned that they should 'not become an all-consuming task or preoccupation', although he added that using new data sources and technologies is 'very powerful' as it helps give a sense about the direction in which the economy is headed in a fast-moving world for real-time interventions. 'I would also make the point that to some extent the issue of whether all of this should be going on in MoSPI and in the statistical infrastructure or whether it should be going on in our rich network of think tanks is, I think, an appropriate issue. For example, NCAER… has a centre for data analytics,' Bery said. New Delhi-based think-tank National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) set up a National Data Innovation Centre in 2017 to serve as a 'laboratory for experiments in data collection', among other objectives. Meanwhile, speaking at the same workshop, MoSPI Secretary Saurabh Garg said alternate data sources and frontier technology have 'reached a stage that we can actually use it for official statistics' and that this augured well for the future of data analysis. In an interview to The Indian Express, published on Thursday, Garg had said the Statistics Ministry is looking to use data from sources such as online booking platforms for air and rail fares and over-the-top (OTT) streaming services, among others, for the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) series that will be released in early 2026. 'For the new CPI series, MoSPI is expanding its approach by exploring alternative data sources, such as online platforms for airfare, rail fare, OTT platforms and administrative records for price data of petrol, diesel and LPG. Discussions are ongoing with IRCTC, under the Ministry of Railways, and the PPAC under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for direct transfer of data for integration in CPI,' Garg said. MoSPI is in the process of revising its key macroeconomic indicators — CPI, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Apart from updating the base years to 2022-23 for GDP and IIP, and 2024 for CPI, the revision exercise will also see changes in methodology used to compute the indicators. In addition, the updated CPI series will be based on a new basket of goods and services as per the findings of MoSPI's recent Household Consumption Expenditure Survey. This could result in near-obsolete items such as audio casettes being removed from the CPI basket, with prices of more contemporary goods like treadmills being used in the measurement of retail inflation. 'Intelligent integration' Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran, also speaking at the workshop, pushed for the use of alternative data in official statistics. While surveys, administrative, and national accounts data remain indispensable as inputs in making decisions, the pace, complexity, and granularity required by modern policymaking and the challenges attached to them 'have exposed limitations in both the periodicity and dimensionality of such data,' he said. According to Nageswaran, alternative data such as satellite-based night-time luminosity — used as a proxy for economic activity in areas with delayed or weak statistical reporting — and other satellite data can help policymakers monitor industrial activity, road connectivity, and cropping patterns, among others. 'These insights can inform timely decisions on input provisioning, crop insurance payouts, and regional procurement strategies,' he said. These new types of data capture emergent behaviour, respond faster to shocks, and reflect the 'lived experience of economic agents in ways that conventional aggregates sometimes cannot,' he added. However, the government's top economist warned that while alternative data can help policymakers move from 'retrospective diagnostics to proactive intervention', they could not replace official statistics and warranted 'intelligent integration'. 'Therefore, the mature approach is not to choose between official and alternative data but to design systems where each informs and validates the other, especially in environments where timely action is crucial,' Nageswaran said, adding that enthusiasm must be tempered with prudence as official data still carried a 'certain higher sense of authenticity and reliability and accuracy given the years of usage and in-built checks and balances'. With reference to frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence, Nageswaran said the 'black box nature of certain algorithms, the potential for bias embedded in training data, and risks to individual privacy must be actively mitigated through robust governance frameworks'. Further, these technologies should be deployed in a way that they are tailored to institutional absorption capacity. 'A well-designed algorithm is only as effective as the human systems interpreting and acting upon its output,' the chief economic adviser said. Aanchal Magazine is Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express and reports on the macro economy and fiscal policy, with a special focus on economic science, labour trends, taxation and revenue metrics. With over 13 years of newsroom experience, she has also reported in detail on macroeconomic data such as trends and policy actions related to inflation, GDP growth and fiscal arithmetic. Interested in the history of her homeland, Kashmir, she likes to read about its culture and tradition in her spare time, along with trying to map the journeys of displacement from there. ... Read More
