The U.S. president plans to charge vessels docking fees of up to $1.5m – terrible news for Greece, with the world's largest merchant fleet. CGTN's Evangelo Sipsas reports from Athens.
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NewsTranscript
00:00These Greek waters might look calm right now, but there's trouble on the horizon.
00:05A new Trump-backed plan could slap massive fees on ships linked to China,
00:10and Greek ship owners could feel the hit hard.
00:14Many of their vessels are built or currently under construction in Chinese shipyards,
00:19putting them squarely in the line of fire if the plan is a go-ahead.
00:23At the moment, 33% of the fleet, that is of the ships currently at sea, have been repaired in China,
00:33and about 67% of the ships that Greek ship owners are building are in China.
00:37So a large number of businesses are tied to the Chinese shipbuilding industry.
00:41This means that these companies will be directly affected by the decision of the President of the United States.
00:47And that's a problem for Greece, whose shipping giants run the world's largest merchant fleet.
00:56For years, they've been turned to Chinese yards for cost-effective shipbuilding.
01:01But this new U.S. plan could make that relationship a little more expensive.
01:08You start to worry when you see one of the planet's major powers,
01:11a key player in global trade, introducing regulations that would have been unthinkable in the past.
01:16Naturally, someone might start thinking that an alternative must be created soon,
01:21an alternative space for shipbuilding, because of this trade war with China.
01:25But it's not the case. There's no alternative at the moment.
01:28The Trump administration argues that it's all about national security,
01:33and that China's lead in shipbuilding is putting the United States at risk.
01:38However, critics say that it could backfire, dragging countries like Greece into the crossfire.
01:46What's important now is clarity.
01:48If these fees come into force, ship owners might avoid U.S. ports entirely,
01:53or move towards Japanese or Korean-built ships.
01:56This won't be a quick shift.
01:59And while shifting away from Chinese-built ships won't happen overnight,
02:04the added cost will almost certainly trickle down to consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.
02:10At the end of the day, it's the consumer who will pay.
02:16The American consumer will have more expensive products, guaranteed.
02:20Same goes for the European consumer.
02:22What started as a plan to boost American shipyards could end up rocking global shipping.
02:28And for Greek ship owners, the message is clear.
02:31Choppy waters may be ahead.
02:33And everyone's waiting to see just how big the waves could become.
02:38Evangelosipsas for CGTN, Athens.
02:41Evangelosipsas for CGTN, Athens.