China’s dominance in the maritime industry is “unreasonable” and “restricts U.S. commerce,” the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said on Jan. 16 following months of investigation.
The USTR, which launched the investigation in April last year in response to a petition filed by a group of labor unions, said China’s targeted dominance of the global shipbuilding, maritime, and logistics sectors is “actionable” under U.S. trade law.
The office did not offer any recommendations on how Beijing should be penalized, leaving President-elect Donald Trump to decide what to do next.
“Beijing’s targeted dominance of these sectors undermines fair, market-oriented competition, increases economic security risks, and is the greatest barrier to [the] revitalization of U.S. industries, as well as the communities that rely on them,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement on Thursday….