China on Friday announced that starting Oct. 14, the country will start charging U.S. ships for docking at Chinese ports — a direct response to Washington for imposing fees on Chinese vessels arriving at U.S. ports, set to take effect the same day. The U.S. fees “seriously violate” international trading principles and “seriously damages” China-U.S. maritime trade, the Chinese Ministry of Transport said in the announcement, translated by CNBC. China will charge 400 yuan ($56) per net ton for the U.S. vessels, essentially the same as the $50 per net ton that the U.S. is imposing on Chinese ships. Beijing also matched the U.S. with plans to increase the fees over time through April 17, 2028, with the same effective dates. In the “short term, this will result in an increase in costs for U.S. consumers, a decrease in profits for shippers, and a small decline in demand for exports to the U.S. in certain categories,” said Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China.

Full report : China retaliates against U.S. port fees with new charges on American ships.