US ocean shipping company Matson has paid $6.4 million in port fees to China since they were implemented on October 14, CEO Matt Cox said on Tuesday, reports Reuters. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping last week agreed to put those tit-for-tat levies on pause for 12 months, starting on November 10. Media outlets in China had reported that Hawaii-based Matson, one of a handful of global shipping firms with US-built and -flagged vessels, was the first to pay the fees in China.
Matson expects the US Trade Representative and the China Ministry of Transport to publish specific instructions, including any refund programs, regarding port entry fees shortly, Cox said on the company’s quarterly earnings call.
Early this year, the Trump administration announced plans to levy fees on China-linked ships to loosen the country’s grip on the global maritime industry and bolster US shipbuilding—a move vessel operators warned would disrupt trade flows and ultimately drive up costs for consumers. China retaliated with fees on ships with links to the United States, and started charging them on October 14—the same day US fees went into effect.