Yesterday the United States Court of International Trade ruled whereas the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) to which Donald Trump referred to introduce tariffs to counter foreign trade practices and tariffs withheld unfair and harmful to the American economy does not give the U.S. president the power to adopt them, while in the USA the appeals of numerous companies and trade associations to cancel or reduce the intensity of the new duties because they are considered harmful to the economy itself and for the American companies themselves. Among these exhortations, that of the Association of U.S. Port Authorities which has warmly invited the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to find alternatives to 100% duties on port cranes ship-to-shore products produced in China and the U.S. government office proposed in the framework of measures to combat competition in the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors.

"The application of a new 100% duty on STS cranes - explained the president and CEO of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), Cary Devis, in hearing at the USTR - will not create out of nowhere a domestic crane manufacturing industry. Will only increase costs for port authorities public funds'. "Increase duties on Chinese cranes by a another 100% - he specified - will not magically revitalize an American crane manufacturing industry that has been non-existent for decades. However, it will force the authorities public dockers to pay more for cranes already ordered or will have to order shortly to replace equipment obsolete or to set up new terminals".

The EFA has announced that currently American ports have in Orders for the takeover of 55 new STS cranes, of which 44 are cranes from China. In addition, the association estimated that in the next 1-2 years US ports will have new orders in progress for 32 new STS cranes, including 26 made in China, in the next 3-5 years orders will rise to 76 STS cranes, including 61 Chinese cranes, and in the coming 6-10 years the new ship-to-shore cranes expected on order will be 43 of which 34 are Chinese.

The Association of American Port Authorities has calculated what they could be, with the introduction of the new duty, the additional costs to be borne by national ports. AAPA recalled that before the duties, STS port cranes produced by the Chinese ZPMC, which is the world leader in this segment, They cost about $15 million. The association noted that if the USTR were to impose an additional 100% duty that would be would add to the 25% duty introduced in 2024 and the 145% imposed on most Chinese products, the authorities American public dockers would have to face an outlay total of more than $1.78 billion to buy cranes Chinese STS that have currently already been ordered against to the $660 million originally agreed with the company Chinese. In the period of the next 1-2 years the expected orders of China's new STS cranes are expected to total $390 million, a figure that the tariffs would raise to 1.05 billion dollars. Thus the price of orders expected in the period of the next 3-5 years, estimated at 915 million, would rise to 2.47 billion and the price of orders expected in the next 6-10 years would grow from $510 million to $1.38 billion. Over the next few years, ten years - the AAPA underlined - the price currently expected for Chinese STS cranes, amounting to over $2.47 billion, with tariffs would rise to more than $6.68 billion.

"The application of this duty to cranes already - noted the EFPA - will not discourage the China's unfair manufacturing practices nor will it encourage the American production of STS cranes. These cranes have already been ordered and largely intended to replace equipment obsolete or to set up new or expanded terminals. American ports They need these cranes now, but they can't afford 1,782 billions of dollars in unexpected costs. They can't pull themselves back from these purchases. If they were to pay these fees, They would have three options. First, they could let the cranes are covered with dust while they are stored in warehouses customs fees at an additional cost. Secondly, they could try to cut expenses elsewhere to cover the costs of these Rates. Thirdly, ports planning future tenders they could instead buy used cranes, which are not as structurally or operationally sound. The result of Any of these options: Infrastructure projects lost jobs, obsolete infrastructure and unsafe and port congestion. The Port of Houston, Texas - has clarified the association - is facing this sad situation. They have a contract for eight ZPMC cranes with delivery scheduled for spring 2026 at a price of 14 million dollars each. If they were forced to pay the full amount of the duties on these cranes, they would have to pay as much as 302.4 million dollars of taxes. This means over $300 million not invested in infrastructure projects in one of the world's largest ports big names in the country".