Bentzel: Tariffs on Chinese-made port equipment should be reinvested in U.S. maritime

NAWE’s Bentzel: “Tariffs on Chinese-made port equipment should be reinvested in U.S. maritime.” [Photo: NAWE]

The U.S. has now started charging Section 301 port fees on Chinese built ships (with China imposing tit-for-tat measures in reponse). While most attention has centered on those fees, the latest proposed modifications to the Section 301 action include imposing tariffs of 100% on certain ship-to-shore cranes and cargo handling equipment. And Carl Bentzel, president of the National Association of Waterfront Employers (NAWE) has ideas on how the funds generated by those tariffs should be spent.

“As we look toward building a more resilient and competitive supply chain, it is vital that revenues collected through tariffs on critical port equipment be reinvested directly into the U.S. maritime industry,” Bentzel said at NAWE’s 2025 annual meeting. “These investments will help modernize port infrastructure, strengthen domestic manufacturing, and ensure our nation’s terminals are prepared to meet the demands of 21st-century commerce.”

The 2025 Annual Meeting overlapped with the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) issuance of a notice of modification and proposed modification of action and a request for comments on maritime-related tariffs. The action represents certain final decisions regarding the issuance of 100% tariffs on ship-to-shore cranes manufactured in China, and the issuance of new, heretofore unannounced expansion of a 150% tariff to a wide range of other Chinese-manufactured cargo handling equipment.

NAWE has worked closely with the USTR throughout this process, testifying twice on the proposed tariffs early in 2025, and has been in continual contact with the White House and other federal agencies charged with implementation of new maritime policies. It says that the U.S. maritime industry stands united in advocating that all maritime related fees, penalties, and tariffs should be reinvested as dedicated funding and investment in the industry as the U.S, seeks to revive its maritime industrial base.

NAWE believes these funds should be administered through a Maritime Security Trust Fund, a concept outlined in President Trump’s “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance” Executive Order. NAWE further amplified this initiative by sending a letter to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leadership and called for the inclusion of the Maritime Security Trust Fund in the surface transportation reauthorization bill being considered this year.

As dialogue and policy develops around the revitalization of America’s maritime industrial base, NAWE has established a Ship-to-Shore Crane and Cargo Handling Equipment Task Force that is developing a legislative proposal to meet the goals outlined by the Administration.