China-built tankers lose favour as USTR discriminatory levy looms
- Potential US Trade Representative levy of up to $1.5m per China-built ship remains light on detail but is already having impact on tanker sector
- Long range one and long range two segments have the highest proportion of China-built tankers loading US exports
- Two-tier tanker freight market expected to form; one for Japan- and South Korea-built ships and the other for China-linked tankers
The USTR levy is another in a long line of ‘grey swans’ that will inject volatility, and which the tanker market will have to negotiate, says BRS