China's Cosco warns US levies risk upsetting global shipping
[BEIJING] China's largest shipping line said on Monday (Apr 21) that the Trump administration's plan to impose levies on Chinese vessels docking at US ports would erode stability in global trade and supply chains.
Cosco Shipping Corporation's response marked the first reaction by the Asian nation's maritime sector, after the US put forward a plan last week to impose fees on Chinese-built and -owned ships. The proposal includes charges based on the volume of goods carried, on a per-voyage basis.
'These actions risk undermining the security, resilience, and orderly operation of global industrial and supply chains,' Cosco said in a statement. The company is a major owner and controller of vessels across all classes that are key to moving goods and cargoes across borders, including oil and gas tankers and container ships.
A spokesman for China's foreign ministry said on Friday that Beijing would take all necessary measures to defend its lawful rights and interests.
The latest US proposal has been watered down from an earlier version, but keeps pressure on Chinese ship operators and shipbuilders. Analysts, including Omar Nokta, managing director at Jefferies, have said that while the revised plan will not upset how prices are fixed in the global shipping market, Cosco risks losing market share.
Cosco has been the target of US restrictions before. In January, the Department of Defense blacklisted the company, prompting some charterers to request brokers to not offer the Chinese firm's vessels. Washington had sanctioned it in 2019 as well, prompting supertanker day rates to spike at that time. Those curbs were eventually lifted. BLOOMBERG
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Five nations and EU urge Trump not to impose new airplane tariffs
President Donald Trump has already imposed tariffs of 10 per cent on nearly all airplane and parts imports. PHOTO: REUTERS Five nations and EU urge Trump not to impose new airplane tariffs WASHINGTON - Five nations and the European Union, as well as airlines and aerospace firms worldwide, urged the Trump administration not to impose new national security tariffs on imported commercial planes and parts, documents released on June 10 showed. Airlines and planemakers have been lobbying President Donald Trump to restore the tariff-free regime under the 1979 Civil Aircraft Agreement that has yielded an annual trade surplus of US$75 billion (S$96.5 billion) for the US industry. The documents made public by the US Commerce Department bared concerns over the fallout of possible new tariffs expressed by companies as well as nations such as Canada, China, Japan, Mexico and Switzerland, besides the European Union. 'As reliable trading partners, the European Union and United States should strengthen their trade regarding aircraft and aircraft parts, rather than hinder it by imposing trade restrictions,' the EU wrote. It would consider its options 'to ensure a level playing field', it added. Mr Trump has already imposed tariffs of 10 per cent on nearly all airplane and parts imports. 'No country or region should attempt to support the development of its domestic aircraft manufacturing industry by suppressing foreign competitors,' the Chinese government wrote. Separately, US planemaker Boeing cited a recent trade deal unveiled in May with Britain that ensures tariff-free treatment for airplanes and parts. 'The United States should ensure duty-free treatment for commercial aircraft and their parts in any negotiated trade agreement, similar to its efforts with the United Kingdom,' Boeing told the Commerce Department in a filing. Mexico said in 2024 it exported US$1.45 billion in aircraft parts, just a tenth of the total, to the United States. The EU said it took US exports of aircraft worth roughly US$12 billion, while exporting about US$8 billion of aircraft to the US. In early May, the Commerce Department launched a 'Section 232' national security investigation into imports of commercial aircraft, jet engines and parts that could form the basis for even higher tariffs on such imports. Last week, Delta Air Lines and major trade groups warned of tariffs' impact on ticket prices, aviation safety and supply chains. 'Current US tariffs on aviation are putting domestic production of commercial aircraft at risk,' Airbus Americas CEO Robin Hayes said in a filing. 'It is not realistic or sensible today to create a 100 per cent domestic supply chain in any country.' Boeing said it had been increasing US content in its airplanes over the last decade and its newest airplanes, the 737 MAX 10 and 777X, would have 'more than 88 per cent domestically-sourced content'. The United Auto Workers union, which represents 10,000 aerospace workers, said it supports tariffs and domestic production quotas, adding that US aerospace employment has fallen to 510,000 in 2024 from 850,000 in 1990. 'To safeguard the entire aerospace supply chain across the commercial and defense sectors, comprehensive tariffs and production quotas on several products are needed,' it said. JetBlue Airways opposed new tariffs, however, saying, 'Trade policy should reinforce, not destabilise, the proven systems that keep our aircraft flying safely and affordably.' REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Rare earths: China's trump card in trade war with US
Used in electric vehicles, hard drives, wind turbines and missiles, rare earth elements are essential to the modern economy and national defence. PHOTO: REUTERS Beijing - China is counting on one crucial advantage as it seeks to grind out a deal to ease its high-stakes trade war with the United States – dominance in rare earths. Used in electric vehicles, hard drives, wind turbines and missiles, rare earth elements are essential to the modern economy and national defence. AFP takes a look at how rare earths have become a key sticking point in talks between the US and China. Mining boom 'The Middle East has oil. China has rare earths,' Deng Xiaoping, the late Chinese leader whose pro-market reforms set the country on its path to becoming an economic powerhouse, said in 1992. Since then, Beijing's heavy investment in state-owned mining firms and lax environmental regulations compared to other industry players have turned China into the world's top supplier. The country now accounts for 92 per cent of global refined output, according to the International Energy Agency. But the flow of rare earths from China to manufacturers around the world has slowed after Beijing in early April began requiring domestic exporters to apply for a licence – widely seen as a response to US tariffs. Under the new requirements – which industry groups have said are complex and slow-moving – seven key elements and related magnets require Beijing's approval to be shipped to foreign buyers. Deep impact Ensuring access to the vital elements has become a top priority for US officials in talks with Chinese counterparts, with the two sides meeting this week in London. 'The rare earth issue has clearly... overpowered the other parts of the trade negotiations because of stoppages at plants in the United States,' said Mr Paul Triolo, a technology expert at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Centre for China Analysis, in an online seminar on June 9. That disruption, which forced US car giant Ford to temporarily halt production of its Explorer SUV, 'really got the attention of the White House', he said. Officials from the two countries said on June 10 that they had agreed on a 'framework' for moving forward on trade – with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressing optimism that concerns over access to rare earths 'will be resolved' eventually. Rare earth advantage The slowing of licence issuance has raised fears that more automakers will be forced to halt production while they await shipments. China's commerce ministry said over the weekend that as a 'responsible major country' it had approved a certain number of export applications, adding that it was willing to strengthen related dialogue with 'relevant countries'. But that bottleneck has highlighted Washington's reliance on Chinese rare earths for producing its defence equipment even as trade and geopolitical tensions deepen. An F-35 fighter jet contains more than 400kg of rare earth elements, noted a recent analysis by Gracelin Baskaran and Meredith Schwartz of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. 'Developing mining and processing capabilities requires a long-term effort, meaning the United States will be on the back foot for the foreseeable future,' they wrote. Playing catch up The recent export control measures are not the first time China has leveraged its dominance of rare earths supply chains. After a 2010 maritime collision between a Chinese trawler and Japanese coast guard boats in disputed waters, Beijing briefly halted shipments of its rare earths to Tokyo. The episode spurred Japan to invest in alternative sources and improve stockpiling of the vital elements – with limited success. That is 'a good illustration of the difficulty of actually reducing dependence on China', said Mr Triolo, noting that in the 15 years since the incident, Japan has achieved only 'marginal gains'. The Pentagon is trying to catch up, with its 'mine-to-magnet' strategy aiming to ensure an all-domestic supply chain for the key components by 2027. The challenge facing Washington to compete with Beijing in rare earths is compounded by sheer luck: China sits on the world's largest reserves. 'Mineable concentrations are less common than for most other mineral commodities, making extraction more costly,' wrote Rico Luman and Ewa Manthey of ING in an analysis published June 10. 'It is this complex and costly extraction and processing that make rare earths strategically significant,' they wrote. 'This gives China a strong negotiating position.' AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Hundreds protest outside ICE headquarters in New York City
NYPD Strategic Response Group units arrest protesters as they block an entrance to the Federal building on Broadway in New York. PHOTO: VICTOR J. BLUE/NYTIMES Protesters block an entrance to the Federal building on Broadway after a rally against ICE arrests at Foley Square in New York on June 10. PHOTO: VICTOR J. BLUE/NYTIMES NEW YORK – Hundreds of protesters demonstrated in lower Manhattan on the evening of June 10 against President Donald Trump's escalating immigration crackdown, continuing several days of protests that began more than 3,850km away in Los Angeles. The demonstrators rallied at Foley Square, near a large government building that houses federal immigration offices and the city's main immigration court, which has become a flash point as the Trump administration ramps up the arrest of migrants in courthouses. Shortly after 6pm, hundreds moved into streets that snake through the lower Manhattan neighborhood that is home to federal buildings, marching about 1.5km north toward another immigration court on Varick Street. They raised bright yellow signs that said 'ICE out of NYC' in Spanish and English. A separate group stayed behind and spread out around the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office near Foley Square. The crowd there grew increasingly agitated as night fell, with some chanting 'Nazi scum' and taunting police officers. Dozens of officers in riot gear flanked the protesters in an apparent effort to facilitate traffic, leading to the arrest of a number of demonstrators who were escorted away with their hands bound in zip ties throughout the evening. After 10pm, a dwindling crowd of about 100 protesters clashed with police officers near Foley Square, with some briefly marching downtown toward the entrance of the Brooklyn Bridge. Officers sought to keep people on sidewalks, pushing some demonstrators to the ground as they arrested them and using pepper spray during some of the arrests. Some people shouted and shoved the officers as they were led away in handcuffs. As Mr Trump deployed National Guard troops and Marines to California, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who has largely aligned himself with Mr Trump's immigration agenda, said on June 10 that he did not foresee Mr Trump sending the military to the city. 'If there's ever a need to go beyond the manpower that we have, there's other ways you do it before you have to come with the look of a military operation,' Mr Adams said, citing the size and experience of New York City's police force. The rally on June 10 appeared to be larger than protests in New York during the past few days. Those earlier demonstrations were tense, resulting in arrests and small confrontations with law enforcement, but they did not devolve into the visceral scenes of chaos that appeared episodically in Los Angeles. While the protests in Los Angeles were largely peaceful, protesters and federal officers have engaged in violent clashes, with officers shooting flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets at protesters, who have thrown rocks, glass bottles and fireworks at the officers and have burned vehicles. NYPD Strategic Response Group units arrest protesters as they block an entrance to the Federal building in New York on June 10, 2025. PHOTO: VICTOR J. BLUE/NYTIMES In New York, demonstrators coalesced near 26 Federal Plaza, a 41-storey federal building just a few blocks from City Hall with one of the city's three immigration courts. Dozens of migrants showing up for hearings have been detained by federal agents at the courthouse in June, sparking pushback from Democrats and drawing activists to the building. The imposing skyscraper also houses the ICE field office in New York. On June 10, Ms Andrea Montiel, 31, whose parents are Mexican immigrants, said she showed up at the rally on behalf of family and friends who she said were too worried about their immigration status to demonstrate publicly. 'I think we're really here just because we hope we can make a difference and show ICE is not welcome,' she said, adding that New York and Los Angeles were connected by their large Hispanic populations. 'We are one community despite the distance.' After speeches at the rally, which was organised by a coalition of unions and immigration groups, the crowd grew more disorganized as protesters, many of them masked, broke off to march on city streets, chanting 'Abolish ICE' and waving Mexican and Palestinian flags. Ms Eva Stokes, 21, said she marched in support of her father, who is an immigrant from Mexico. 'My father could get deported at any time,' Ms Stokes said with tears filling her eyes. 'He already has been summoned, and, you know, it's a scary process. I don't want to feel like I'm going to lose my dad.' As nightfall approached, one group of about 50 protesters reached Washington Square Park, dancing and clapping by the park's fountain. People protest against recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests in the Columbia Heights neighborhood in Washington on June 10. PHOTO: ERIC LEE/NYTIMES The first day of demonstrations in New York was June 7 , when more than 100 protesters gathered outside 26 Federal Plaza, where they clashed with police officers after the protesters tried to block ICE vehicles carrying detained migrants. Police said 22 people were taken into custody as officers dispersed the crowd. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, quickly praised the Police Department's response. 'Thankfully, unlike in Los Angeles, the local police department quickly responded to the riots,' DHS said in a statement. On June 9, after Mr Trump ordered 2,000 National Guard members to Los Angeles, demonstrators took over the lobby of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York, demanding the release of immigrants sent to a notorious maximum-security prison in El Salvador. The Police Department arrested at least 24 protesters during that demonstration. Later in the day, as concerns mounted that the protests in New York could spiral out of control, Mr Adams issued brief remarks alongside police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. The mayor said that he respected the right of New Yorkers to protest peacefully but vowed that 'we will not allow violence and lawlessness'. 'The escalation of protests in Los Angeles over the last couple of days is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our city,' Mr Adams said. Ms Tisch said that any attack against police officers would 'be met by a swift and decisive response by the NYPD.' The city leaders gave the remarks just as a disjointed group of 200 protesters gathered near 26 Federal Plaza for a 'ICE out of NYC' demonstration on the evening of June 9, leading to seven arrests. NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
