A new front in the trade wars has opened this week. Both the US and China started charging fees for ships built, operated or financed by their rival when they dock at their ports.

The tit-for-tat exchange was initiated, as could be expected, by the US, which foreshadowed the port fees in February and started implementing them on Tuesday. China’s fees, which mirror America’s, also went live that day, having only been unveiled last week.

That announcement was overshadowed by Beijing’s tightening of restrictions on rare earth exports, which prompted Donald Trump’s threat of 100 per cent tariffs on all of China’s exports to America.

The US decision to introduce the port charges date back to a report commissioned by the Biden administration, which accused China of using unfair practices

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