94Ha Viewpoint
A senior advisor to the elected US President Trump stated that the 60% tariff on Chinese goods should also apply to any goods sold to any country through a new port in Peru by China.
According to Bloomberg, Mauricio Claver-Carone, a member of Trump’s transition team, mentioned that tariffs on Chinese goods should be extended to products passing through the new deep-water port of Chancay, located 60 kilometers north of Lima, the capital of Peru.
In a phone interview last Saturday, Claver-Carone said, “Any products passing through Chancay or any Chinese-controlled ports in the area should be subject to a 60% tariff, just like products from China.”
He believes that tariffs can help prevent the circumvention of US tariffs through transshipment. During transshipment, these goods enter another country from China and then get exported to their final destination, the US.
Claver-Carone mentioned that such tariffs would also make countries think twice about allowing China to build ports on their territory.
During Trump’s first term, Claver-Carone served as the Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the White House National Security Council. After Trump initiated a trade war with China, Mexico replaced China as the largest trading partner of the United States.
Chancay Port, built by China’s state-owned shipping giant COSCO Shipping, involved an investment of $1.3 billion and holds a 60% stake in the port with exclusive operating rights. It is a flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in South America.
On November 14, Chinese President Xi Jinping and the President of Peru attended the grand opening ceremony of Chancay Port. Xi Jinping announced that a direct flight route from Chancay to Shanghai would be established, reducing shipping time and lowering logistics costs.
It is currently unclear how many goods from Chancay Port will be shipped to the US. At a business event on November 15, former Chinese Ministry of Commerce official Ren Hongbin suggested that Chancay Port might help promote trade between China and the US.
During the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Summit in Lima on November 16, Xi Jinping expressed readiness to work with the outgoing US President Biden to improve relations between the two largest economies in the world.
