The US government has announced that it will place a 25 percent tariff on imports of Chinese built Ship to Shore port cranes this year. These will include those produced by western manufacturers such as Konecranes which is currently building units for the Georgia Ports Authority. There are currently no tariffs on these cranes.
As far as we know there are no ship to shore cranes produced in the USA, so the move is likely to benefit companies such as Liebherr and others that build cranes in countries other than China.
Konecranes STS cranes are made in China
The tariffs are part of a wider announcement last night on increases in tariffs across a number of sectors, including steel, aluminium, semiconductors, electric vehicles, batteries, critical minerals, solar cells and medical products, as well as STS cranes. The tariffs on lithium batteries could also have an impact on aerial lift manufacturers based in the US.
The section in the announcement covering cranes said: “The Administration continues to deliver for the American people by rebuilding the United States’ industrial capacity to produce port cranes with trusted partners. A 25% tariff rate on ship-to-shore cranes will help protect U.S. manufacturers from China’s unfair trade practices that have led to excessive concentration in the market.”
“Port cranes are essential pieces of infrastructure that enable the continuous movement and flow of critical goods to, from, and within the United States, and the Administration is taking action to mitigate risks that could disrupt American supply chains. This action also builds off of ongoing work to invest in U.S. port infrastructure through the President’s Investing in America Agenda. This port security initiative includes bringing port crane manufacturing capabilities back to the United States to support U.S. supply chain security and encourages ports across the country and around the world to use trusted vendors when sourcing cranes or other heavy equipment.”
Vertikal Comment
This is late breaking news on Wednesday night, so no time to analyse the information, especially as this type of crane is not our core market. We will update when we learn more. It should also be said that the implementation of tariffs is for 2024 - when in 2024 we are unsure at this point.
One thing looks certain is that it is likely to have a negative cost impact on a number of American businesses.
We will update when we learn more.
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