b'28American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comThe double whammy Part 2: Ro/Ro carriers and the precarious road aheadThe Trump Administrations tariff blitz and the proposed Shipbuilding for Prosperity and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security Act better known as SHIPS, could collectively detour the Ro/Ro business in the USor not.By George Lauriat, AJOTh oldy ourr ollcall .make ship calls economically unviable and cripple On April 17 ththe Office of the United Statesand in turn financially devastate US portsnot to Trade Representative (USTR) issued a final noticemention reduce ship calls inevitably raising costs on its Section 301 investigation on Chinas Tar- to importers and exporters alike as regulatory costs geting the Maritime, Logistics and Shipbuilding forareforwardedtotheconsumer.[www.ajot.com, Dominance. The notice finalized the USTRs orig- March 27, 2025 USTR proposal ironically repre-inal February announcement with a few revisions.sents grave threat to U.S. port system] The USTR Section 301 final notice came on theIn March, John H. McCown, a noted US mari-heels of President Trumps April 9 thExecutive Ordertime analyst, wrote in a detailed commentessen-onRestoringAmericasMaritimeDominancetially a rebuttal to the USTR of the proposedWW Tanhauser at pierwhich established a Maritime Action Plan (MAP)action, It is my view that whomever crafted the endorsing the USTRs restrictions on Chinese builtproposedactionseitherdoesnotknowasmuch(DOUBLEcontinued fromChevyMalibu,ToyotaCamry and/or flagged vessels as well as other actions thatas they should about how maritime supply chainspage 24) Hybrid, and Ford Explorer were wouldaffectforeignbuiltand/orflaggedvesselsoperate or worse yet does not care about how or ifassembledvehiclesvarydra- in this group. calling US ports. MAP also instructed the Depart- they operate. maticallydependingontype Medium Impact: Many vehi-ment of Homeland Security (DHS) to take all nec- But perhaps the most outspoken of the industryand imported part content. Andcles will have an estimated tariff essary steps including proposing new legislation tocommentators was Andrew Abbott, chief executivethe question in 2025 is whetherimpactofbetween$4,000and ensure many of the features were incorporated intoof ACL (Atlantic Container Line), a Ro/Ro opera- US auto buyers will continue to$8,000.SomeJeepandRam legislation. In turn, the SHIPS Act was reintroducedtorspecializinginvehiclesandhighandheavybuy carsas they have donetruckmodelsareinthiscate-with bipartisan supportironically the legislativefreight. Abbott, an industry veteran whose careercomingoutoftheCOVID-19gory, as are the Chrysler Pacifica concept for SHIPS was initially introduced by thehas included stints with a wide variety of ocean car- pandemic at higher prices? van, BMW X3, the Ford Bronco Biden Administrationin the House and Senateriers both foreign and US, said of the proposed leg- TheAndersonEconomicSport, and the VW Jetta. With and the bill is expected to be reconciled between theislation, This was an idea that emanated from theGroup (AEG) in May released athe adjusted policy, some Texas-two legislative bodies and eventually passed withBiden administration. It sounds like Motherhoodreport analyzing the adjustedassembled Chevroletyet unclear modifications. and Apple Pie: build up American shipbuilding andautopurchasecostsundertheSuburban/GMC Yukon vehi-go after China at the same time. Look at the largeAdministrationsApril29thcles will have a tariff impact we P ushBack ToP roPosal andr o /r o number of Democrats in Congress that are support- proclamation. The AEG groupedestimate at just under $8000.w eighsi n ing it. It was cobbled together by people who didUSassembledautosintothreeHighImpact:Higheronthe The main target of all these efforts was Chinesenot understand how international trade and trans- groupsseparatedbytheesti- tariffimpactlistarefull-size built and/or flagged containerships in the US tradeportation work. I am a bit surprised that the USTRmatedtariffcostsundertheluxury SUVs, some BEVs, and lanes. However, the regulatory efforts also includedhas given thisproposal the time of day, given theApril adjusted policy:productsassembledinEurope most commercial ship types and equipment such asnegative impact on American industry.Lower Impact GroupReducedandAsia.Thesevehiclesare gantry cranes, containers and even truck chassis. From Abbotts perspective, the fees imposedTariff Costs: For certain vehiclesexpected to see a tariff impact As might be expected, the legislation receivedfor calls made by Chinese built shipswhich likeassembledintheUnitedStatesof$10,000to$12,000,with considerablemaritimeindustrypushbacksthatcontainer ships, represents a majority of the buildsand with substantial U.S. content,somebattery-electricvehi-pointed out that while the goal of rebuilding USconstituting the Ro/Ro fleetto US ports eco- we estimated tariff cost burdensclesandEuropeanandAsian commercial shipbuilding capabilities is laudable, tonomically unfeasible.of $2,000 to $3,000. The Honda(DOUBLEcontinued on do so as outlined in the initial USTR notices would(AHEADcontinued on page 30) CivicandHondaOdyssey,page 31)CHANGECHANNELYOURMove cargo more efficiently. Scale operations for future growth.Big changes are happening. The Freeport Harbor Channel will soon be the deepest in Texas with a new modernized berth and cranes to welcome larger vessels and over 500 acres of land available for development.Its time to change your channel.1.800.362.5743 | PortFreeport.com'