The U.S. Trade Representative's Office on Thursday granted exemptions to domestic exporters and shipowners serving the Great Lakes, the Caribbean and U.S. territories, waiving port fees on Chinese-made vessels. The U.S. government's fee aims to revitalize the American shipbuilding industry and counter China's maritime dominance. Compared to the proposal in February to impose fees of up to $1.5 million per port call for Chinese-built vessels, the new rules have been relaxed. Under the revised plan, affected vessels will be charged once per voyage, with a maximum of six times per year. The plan also no longer follows the initial proposal to charge based on the proportion of Chinese-made vessels in a fleet or potential orders for Chinese vessels. Previously, executives in the ocean shipping industry were concerned that almost every carrier would be hit with additional fees. They said the extra costs would make U.S. exports less attractive and impose billions of dollars in additional costs on American consumers. (Reuters)