The work of breaking up international relations by Donald Trump since he sat down again at the desk in the Oval Office at the White House has not spared the shipping sector. After threatening reappropriation of the Panama Canal Maritime Artery by States United States and after announcing specific port fees to To hit ships calling in the USA that have been built in China or operated by Chinese operators or by operators who have ordered the construction of ships to Chinese shipyards, the administration sent a diplomatic note in which they justified the non-participation of US representatives in the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) negotiations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which are currently underway in London and which are considered crucial by all the organisations of the maritime industry to define a clear shipping decarbonization strategy.

The note specifies the opposition of the United States with respect to the any attempt to impose economic measures against its own ships that are based on greenhouse gas emissions or on the choice of the naval fuel used. Emissions tax and fuel standards which are precisely the two pillars of the shipping decarbonisation strategy under discussion in the British capital.

The note urges governments to reconsider their support for these measures, threatening the adoption of measures reciprocal if they were to be adopted. In addition, the note specifies that the US administration is opposed to any measure to finance environmental or other projects that are not related to the maritime sector.