Plaskett Wins Exemption for USVI on China-Built Ships Port Fees

   Plaskett Wins Exemption 

   for USVI on China-Built  

        Ships Port Fees

M.A. Dworkin

Washington, D.C. - In a stunning reversal of policy by the Trump Administration, one that could have dealt a crippling blow to the U.S. Virgin Islands economy if left in place, Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett has played a major role in convincing the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office (USTR), headed up by Ambassador Jamieson Greer, to issue an exemption on the proposed exorbitant Chinese-built ship fees that were to be imposed on almost all ships docking at USVI ports.

     “There would have been far-reaching economic consequences, including shipping delays and estimates of 50-60% increased shipping costs under the Proposed Action,” the Congresswoman’s official statement stated. “However, the U.S. Virgin Islands falls within the 2,000 mile exemption in the Notice of Action issued today by USTR. Furthermore, transport operators with fleets comprised of Chinese-built vessels would have been charged up to $1.5 million per vessel entrance to an American port, as well as an additional fee of up to $1 million per vessel entrance to an American port if the number of foreign-built vessels in the operator’s fleet is equal to or greater than 25 percent. Even vessels under the U.S. flag, operated and owned by a U.S. entity that are Chinese-built would have been subject to the fees in USTR’s proposal. If the Proposed Action had been implemented, the unintended consequence would have been an increased presence of Chinese vessels and carriers transporting goods from sources outside of the United States - including China - within the United States’ third border, the Caribbean Basin.”

     “I was grateful for the opportunity to speak with and question US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer during a Ways and Means Committee hearing last week and at that time urging the Ambassador to consider the practical impacts of tariffs on the U.S. outlying areas and ultimately reconsider those actions,” the Congresswoman stated. “ Our communities would have borne a tremendous undue cost, which made clear the need for an exemption. I also led a letter to USTR Ambassador Greer and the Administration, with Members of Congress from both the Atlantic and Pacific areas to make the case for an exemption for the Territories and US-owned companies, and underscore the impact of these fees on the Virgin Islands, which would have been permeated through the Caribbean region. 

“USTR Ambassador Greer took my letter into serious consideration when making final arrangements of this action. Under the Notice of Action, exemptions apply to:

• U.S. - owned or U.S. - flagged vessels enrolled in the Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement, the Maritime Security Program, the Tanker Security Program, or the Cable Security Program;

• Vessels arriving empty or in ballast; 

• Vessels with a capacity of equal to or less than: 4,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units, 55,000 deadweight tons, or an individual bulk capacity of 80,000 deadweight tons;

• Vessels entering a U.S. port in the continental United States from a voyage of less than 2,000 nautical miles from a foreign port or point;

• U.S. - owned vessels where the U.S. entity owning the vessel is controlled by U.S. persons and is at least 75 percent beneficially owned by U.S. persons;

• Specialized or special purpose-built vessels for the transport of chemical substances in bulk liquid forms; and 

• Vessels principally identified as “Lakers Vessels” on CBP Form 1300, or its electronic equivalent.

     USTR Ambassador Greer’s team highlighted Congresswoman Plaskett’s advocacy both in Committee and her letter where she was able to bring together Representatives from outlying areas in both the Atlantic and the Pacific - States and Territories. ‘We note as a monumental achievement the critical work done by the Congresswoman and her team to bring together disparate communities who the federal government have historically pitted against one another.’ 

     Congresswoman Plaskett is grateful for Ambassador Greer’s team reaching out to share the news with her before the public announcement and expressing the importance of the information her team shared. 

     “I thank my colleagues, USTR Ambassador Greer, elected officials, the maritime industry, and stakeholders, particularly Tropical Shipping and Jennifer Nugent-Hill, for their support to urge the Trump Administration to reconsider the Proposed Action,” stated Congresswoman Plaskett. “I will continue to collaborate in a bipartisan manner with my colleagues, stakeholders, and the Virgin Islands community to advance the interests of the Virgin Islands. I believe that we can work with everyone while not compromising our values and beliefs and get things done. This achievement is an example of that.”