Overview

• Both governments began levying reciprocal harbor fees on Oct. 14, with China exempting China-built vessels and empty ships entering for repairs and applying charges at the first port call or across the first five voyages in a year.
• Beijing defended its rare-earth export licensing as lawful and tied to national security and said it notified Washington, while U.S. trade official Jamieson Greer said there was no advance notice and that a requested call was postponed.
• China declared it would “fight to the end” in the dispute but kept the door open to negotiations and urged Washington to correct what it called faulty actions.
• President Trump has announced 100% tariffs on Chinese imports starting Nov. 1, and although he later struck a conciliatory tone online and said a meeting with Xi was not canceled, the tariff plan remains in place.
• Companies report slow, opaque Chinese licensing that is tightening supplies in a market where China handles roughly 90% of rare-earth processing, and shipping analysts warn new port charges could distort global freight flows.