The United Steelworkers and other North American unions on Tuesday formally called on US President Joe Biden’s administration to initiate a probe into China’s “unreasonable and discriminatory” practices in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sector.
Accusing the Chinese government of pouring in billion of dollars into the shipbuilding industry and forcing domestic steel producer to provide raw material at low prices, the petition filed with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office urged “all appropriate and feasible action to obtain the elimination of China’s practices”.
Four other unions, including the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, joined the United Steelworkers – a trade union representing more than a million North American members, mostly in the US – in making the request.
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The petition was filed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, a statute that former president Donald Trump used in 2018 to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese imports worth billions of dollars a year. USTR has been reviewing Trump-era duties since May 2022.
Citing evidence of various forms of alleged Chinese government support for its shipbuilding industry, the petition also asks USTR to impose docking fees on Chinese vessels in US ports.
The petition said these fees should “address not only the hundreds of billions of dollars of unfair government support documented in this petition and discovered in the course of USTR’s investigation, but also to offset the other unreasonable, discriminatory, and unfair acts, practices, and policies documented in this petition”.
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US Trade Representative Katherine Tai has 45 days to determine whether she will pursue an investigation of Chinese shipbuilding.
“We have seen the PRC create dependencies and vulnerabilities in multiple sectors, like steel, aluminum, solar, batteries, and critical minerals, harming American workers and businesses and creating real risks for our supply chains,” Tai said in a statement acknowledging the request from the unions.
Washington’s top trade negotiator pledged to continue “fighting everyday” to “rebuild American manufacturing, and strengthen our supply chains”.
According to data from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Chinese shipbuilding industry’s output jumped by 12.3 percent year-on-year from January to November 2023. This represented around half of the world’s total.
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“The United States once had nearly 30 major shipyards; now we’re down to just a handful,” said USW International President David McCall, adding that China now operates the world’s largest navy.
“Rebuilding our Merchant Marine is not only essential to increasing our nation’s sealift capability, it will help shore up the critical supply chains our military and commercial shipbuilding industries share, making us safer and more resilient,” he contended.
Tuesday’s petition also mentioned Chinese commercial logistics platform Logink, which collects information on shipping and cargo movement worldwide and provides tracking, data management and other services free of charge.
The group claimed that Logink creates “the potential for the disruption of key supply chains and raise other national security concerns”.
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