China’s Commerce Ministry said Tuesday it was banning dealings by Chinese companies with five subsidiaries of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean in the latest swipe by Beijing at U.S. President Donald Trump’s effort to rebuild the industry in America.
The ministry also announced that it was also investigating a probe by Washington into China’s growing dominance in world shipbuilding and threatened more retaliatory measures. It said the U.S. probe endangers China’s national security and its shipping industry and cited Hanwha’s involvement in the investigation.
The U.S. Trade Representative launched the Section 301 trade investigation in April 2024. It determined that China’s strength in the industry was a burden to U.S. businesses.
International shipping and shipbuilding have yet another areas of friction between Washington and Beijing. Each side has imposed new port fees on each others’ vessels that took effect on Tuesday.
The company said Tuesday via email that it was reviewing the situation. The sanctioned entities are Hanwha Shipping LLC, Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc., Hanwha Ocean USA International LLC, Hanwha Shipping Holdings LLC and HS USA Holdings Corp.
A truce in the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies appears to have unraveled after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened a new 100% tariff on imports from China, expressing frustration over new Chinese export controls on rare earths.
The escalation of antagonisms raised doubts over whether Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will go ahead with a meeting planned for late this month. But Beijing said on Tuesday that China and the U.S. held working-level talks on Monday and have maintained communication.
Posted by John3262005