Wanting to cause us trouble and undermine our shipbuilding industry, the US ended up creating a big problem for itself, which is truly laughable! According to AFP reports on April 27th, the US released new regulations on April 17th stating that starting from mid-October, it would charge "port fees" of $50 per net ton for each voyage for Chinese shipowners and operators, increasing by an additional $30 per net ton annually over the next three years. Clearly, the US intends to use this measure to strike at our shipbuilding industry and support its own shipbuilding industry.

However, within just ten days after the new rule was implemented, the US liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry was not pleased. The American Petroleum Institute warned that these new regulations would harm the ability of US producers to dominate the global LNG industry and hinder the consolidation of the US as a global energy superpower. Why is the oil and gas industry dissatisfied? In one sentence, if this regulation were enforced, the transportation of US LNG would be greatly affected. This is because the US relies heavily on Chinese-made LNG carriers for its LNG transport.

In fact, according to the latest data from 2024, China's shipbuilding industry has already grown to be 232 times larger than that of the US. The US holds only 0.1% of the global market share in shipbuilding, especially in the three key areas of shipbuilding known as the "three jewels of shipbuilding": LNG carriers, large cruise ships, and aircraft carriers. In 2024, China secured 70% of the global orders for LNG carriers. In short, it is impossible for the US LNG industry to bypass Chinese-made LNG carriers for transporting LNG.

Therefore, after the US issued the new regulations, the industry immediately complained to the Trump administration, stating that it could not comply with the new rule mandating "port fees" on vessels built and operated by China docking at US ports, forcing them to use US-made transport ships. Clearly, when formulating the regulations, the US did not consider its own circumstances. However, given that the oil and gas industry is a major donor to Trump's campaign activities, Trump himself places great importance on traditional US energy industries. Perhaps the complaints from this industry will help the US adjust its policies. Otherwise, the US will only end up suffering.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1830569458194442/

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