Analysts have raised concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed $30 billion shipbuilding policy, warning it could pose significant challenges to global trade.

The initiative, aimed to revive America’s declining shipbuilding sector, includes a controversial plan to impose port fees on Chinese ships and non-Chinese operators of Chinese-built vessels.

Speaking during a global trade virtual session on Friday, shipbuilding experts said the policy, if implemented, could affect 98 per cent of ships calling at U.S. ports.

According to the World Shipping Council (WSC), this could lead to container cost increases of $600 to $800 per unit, reducing U.S. competitiveness and transferring the burden of higher port taxes to energy-cargo shippers via charter parties.

Sam Cho, commissioner of the Port of Seattle and a managing member of the Northwest Seaport Alliance, noted that carriers might be forced to consolidate their shipping routes to major ports like Los Angeles and Long Beach.

He warned that the resulting congestion could cause truck driver shortages, overstocked warehouses, and supply chain paralysis.

“For less significant ports and smaller shipping companies, this could mean an existential threat.

 “Of the 103 U.S. ports, 95 are small- to medium-sized, handling fewer than one million twenty-foot equivalent units annually,” Mr Cho said.

Bruce Burrows, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Marine Commerce, estimated that smaller vessels had already seen shipping costs increase by 100 to 500 per cent since March 2025.

He added that the chamber projected the potential loss of 26,000 American jobs in industries dependent on affordable shipping and $4 billion in related economic activity.

“The first to bear the brunt, if implemented, would be U.S. ports, which handle about 40 per cent of the country’s goods trade and support more than 21 million jobs.

“To avoid multiple charges, carriers would limit their port calls, concentrating traffic in a few major hubs,” Mr Burrows said.

Joe Kramek, president of the World Shipping Council, warned that the proposed fees could double transportation costs for U.S. exports.

He said higher port charges would particularly impact grain shippers, lowering the prices farmers receive.

“If the U.S. plans to replace these vessels with domestically flagged and built ships, the ships simply do not exist—nor does the shipyard capacity to build them,” Mr Kramek added.

Ernie Thrasher, CEO of Xcoal Energy & Resources, noted that bulk shipments already face difficulties securing bookings. 

“Agricultural exporters are struggling to secure ships beyond May. Vessel owners are refusing to offer future bookings for U.S. coal shipments due to the proposed fees,” he said.

Daniel Blazer, whose company operates about half of the short sea shipping service between Mexico and the eastern U.S., said two of his three vessels were built in China.

“If forced out of operation, we would need an additional 1,000 trucks per week to move goods across the U.S.-Mexico border, worsening congestion, straining highway infrastructure, and increasing security risks,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Guy Platten, secretary-general of the International Chamber of Shipping, said 35 per cent of vessels servicing U.S. maritime trade routes built in China were owned and operated by companies in U.S. trading partner countries.

“Imposing fees on these vessels would not only affect China’s shipbuilding sector but could also seriously disrupt U.S. maritime supply chains,” Mr Platten said.

(NAN)