USTR’s plan to hit cranes, boxes with huge tariffs attacked in US Congress

US waterfront employers and a Chinese crane manufacturer have attacked the US Trade Representative’s plan to impose huge fees on ship to shore cranes and cargo handling equipment.

Salvos were launched at the USTR plan by industry representatives testifying before a USTR hearing in Congress recently, on May 19.

Comments from representative of Chinese crane manufacturer

“STS cranes from China are already subject to 25 percent duties from a separate 301 investigation. As well as additional reciprocal tariffs imposed recently by President Trump. These tariffs have already had a significant adverse effect on ZPMC’s ability to serve U.S. ports. The imposition of the proposed additional 100 percent tariff will completely undermine the ability to serve these pors, which will result in significant detrimental effects on U.S. ports and the broader U.S. economy. These include increased costs and reduced efficiencies for U.S. ports, heightened inflationary pressures on the U.S. economy, and decreased U.S. jobs, and stunted economic growth,” a representative of the Chinese crane maker ZPMC told the USTR hearing.

The ZPMC representative pointed out that there are no U.S. producers of high-tech ship to shore cranes and that the non-Chinese manufacturers are not ready to satisfy U.S. demand, nor will they be ready to do so in a decade. “The limited supply from non-Chinese manufacturers means that U.S. ports will struggle to find alternative sources for STS cranes, leading to increased costs and delays,” the Chinese representative said, adding that the proposed tariffs will not, therefore, advance the stated goals of the USTR in its investigation.

National Association of Waterfront Employers

Also spraying a salvo against the proposed tariffs was the National Association of Waterfront Employers, a non-profit trade association of privately owned stevedores, marine terminal operators an other U.S. waterfront employers. Although finding “no fault” with the conclusion that China’s government had established long term goals for industrial planning to establish market dominance, the NAWE argued that the proposed implementation of penalties to remedy that dominance in the ship to shore crane market “is fraught with the challenge of avoiding adverse national economic impact… already the maritime trade is suffering with severe reductions in service as a result of the tariffs on Chinese manufactured goods. Further market dislocation may adversely impact the entire U.S. economy,” the Association told the USTR hearing.

Background to the 20% to 100% tariffs on box-handling

On 17 April this year, the USTR announced its Notice of Action to counteract China’s dominance in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors. While most of the attention focused on the fees to be charged on vessel port calls, the USTR announced that it is seeking comments on proposed tariffs on ship-to-shore cranes and other cargo handling equipment, in line with US President Donald Trump’s Executive Order of 09 April 2025 titled “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance“.

Section 5 of that Executive Order instructs the USTR to consider “taking all necessary steps permitted by law” to propose tariffs on ship-to-shore cranes manufactured, assembled, or made using components of PRC (People’s Republic of China) origin, or manufactured anywhere in the world by a company owned, controlled or substantially influenced by a PRC national; and, tariffs on other cargo handling equipment.

In Annex V of the USTR’s 17 April 2025 Notice of Action, the USTR determined to impose duties of up to 100% on ship to shore cranes and additional duties of up to 100% on certain Chinese cargo handling equipment as follows:

(Source: Annex V of the USTR’s 17 April 2025 Notice of Action; US Harmonised Tariff Schedule Code lookup can be found here).