China lifts sanctions on US units of South Korea ship builder Hanwha

The US and China, locked in a months-long trade and tariff war, have rolled back some punitive measures following last month’s meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in South Korea. (Reuters pic)

BEIJING: China said Monday it would suspend sanctions against US subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean, one of South Korea’s largest shipbuilders, as a fragile trade truce between Washington and Beijing continued to take shape.

The United States and China have been involved in a volatile trade and tariff war for months, but agreed to walk back some punitive measures after leaders Xi Jinping and Donald Trump met last month in South Korea.

The year-long suspension of measures against Hanwha, effective from Nov 10, was linked to the US halting port fees it had levied on Chinese-built and operated ships, China’s commerce ministry said in an online statement.

“In light of this (US suspension)… China has decided to suspend the relevant measures” for one year, the statement said.

China had imposed sanctions on five US subsidiaries of Hanwha in October, accusing them of supporting a US government “Section 301” investigation that found Beijing’s dominance of the shipbuilding industry unreasonable.

Organisations and individuals in China had been banned from cooperating with Hanwha Shipping LLC, Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc., Hanwha Ocean USA International LLC, Hanwha Shipping Holdings LLC and HS USA Holdings Corp.

Hanwha announced a US$5 billion investment in Philly Shipyard, in the US city of Philadelphia, in August.