US scraps fines on certain China-built ships serving Caribbean

Last Updated on Saturday, 19 April 2025, 17:44 by Writer

The Caribbean Private Sector Organisation (CPSO) on Saturday said it welcomed the United States’ (US) exemptions of three categories of China-built vessels from as much US$1.5 million in fines, a move that could have triggered a sharp increase in imports and fuelled inflation.

“This Determination, in effect, exempts Caribbean Shipping from the high port fees on China-built vessels, originally proposed by the United States Trade Representative (USTR),” the CPSO said in a statement.

The CPSO on behalf of the regional private sector said it found “acceptable” the US Trade Representative’s Determination on April 17, 2025 that recommended exemptions for:

1. 2,000 nautical miles for short-sea shipping, defined as vessels plying the route between CARICOM/Caribbean and the Continental United States. CARICOM had asked for an exemption of up to 2,750 nautical miles.
2. Vessels carrying less than 55,000 deadweight tonnes and less than 4,000 TEUs in contrast to the region’s request for the same tonnage but 4,999 TEUs.
3. Individual bulk capacity of 80,000 deadweight tonnes; and exemptions for specialized or special purpose-built vessels for the transport of chemical substances in bulk or liquid forms. The CPSO had sought exemption for specialized cargo, such as energy and chemical products which may exceed 55,000 deadweight tonnes.

The CPSO said, “As originally proposed by the USTR, these high port fees, in excess of US$1 million for each US port call, would have increased the cost of shipping between the Caribbean and the United States, with crippling consequences for inflation, shortages, delays and other supply chain disruptions for the people and the economies of CARICOM and the Caribbean.”

The regional private sector organisation said the “tremendously beneficial outcome is the product of leadership and collaboration among several key private sector stakeholders and the governments of the CARICOM states.”

Credited were Caribbean Community leaders under the chairmanship of Barbados’ Prime Minister, Mia Mottley; CPSO’s technical leadership by Economist Dr Patrick Antoine, and Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, Representative of United States Virgin Islands, who participated, at short notice, for the entire duration of the briefing meeting with the CPSO, Tropical Shipping and CARICOM Ambassadors.

“The strategic timing of the questions posed to the Hearings of the U.S. Ways and Means Committee, by Congresswoman Plaskett, was a significant contributor to the USTR outcome,” the regional business support organisation added.