U.S. to Answer Japan’s Port Policies With Penalty Fees

The United States moved Wednesday to impose hefty penalties on Japanese cargo vessels sailing into American ports in retaliation for what U.S. officials said are discriminatory practices against American carriers by Japan’s maritime industry.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission voted to begin levying fees amounting to $100,000 per voyage on ships owned or operated by three major Japanese lines--Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Mitsui OSK Lines--that enter U.S. ports from abroad.

In Tokyo, Japanese Transport Minister Makoto Koga denounced the action as “utterly unacceptable” and called on the maritime commission to immediately withdraw the sanctions. He said they violate World Trade Organization agreements and U.S.-Japan trade treaties.

The sanctions come as trade friction between the two countries seemed to be ebbing. U.S. officials said the commission’s unanimous decision was made last week but was not made public until now to avoid complicating Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s visit to Tokyo on Sunday.

The commission made its order effective April 14, allowing what policymakers said should be ample time for Japan to agree to end its restrictive practices before U.S. officials begin collecting the levies.

Japanese shippers have hinted that they may retaliate by cutting back on the number of cargo vessels heading for U.S. ports or to bypass ports in California to unload their holds in Canada.

That could be a big setback for ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland, which get nearly half their cargo from Japan. But Japan’s heavy reliance on exports to the United States is believed to give their shippers little leverage, and U.S. officials said the shippers would probably just pay the fees.

“While a commercially significant amount, the fee represents only a small percentage of Japanese carriers’ total per-voyage revenues and is unlikely to result in adverse effects for U.S. ports and shippers,” the commission said.

If Japan imposes retaliatory restrictions on U.S. lines entering Japan, the maritime commission added, it will increase the $100,000 penalties “proportionately.”

Officials at the ports of Long Beach and L.A. have said they expect an agreement to be reached before any fines are imposed.

“The impact to us is very difficult to judge,” said Julia Nagano, spokeswoman for the port of Los Angeles.

The commission’s action on Wednesday climaxed a long-standing campaign by U.S. maritime interests to pressure the Japanese into changing some of their restrictive practices, which American shippers say force them to absorb some of the highest shipping costs in the world.

The cost of calling at a major Japanese port is three times higher than unloading at a West Coast port, U.S. officials contend.

The maritime commission charged that the industry-run Japanese Harbor Transportation Assn., which controls shipping practices in Japan, had protected Japanese shipping firms from foreign competitors and extracted “unwarranted” fees that hurt U.S. shippers.

It also alleged that the Japanese government, which has delegated authority to the JHTA, had refused to intervene and had itself carried out discriminatory policies that restrict operations of foreign carriers.

Japan also is under siege from the European Union, which has filed a complaint about the country’s shipping practices with the Geneva-based World Trade Organization. There was no indication how soon the WTO case might be decided.

Japanese shippers concede that their port system is cumbersome but say it still is better than any other scheme for ensuring smooth operations on the waterfront.

Times staff writers Sonni Efron in Tokyo and Chris Kraul in San Diego contributed to this report.