On April 17, 2024, local time in the US, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) launched a 301 investigation into China's so-called “unfair economic practices” in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries. A CCPIT press spokesperson recently issued a statement on the investigation.

According to market development needs, Chinese maritime, logistics and shipbuilding enterprises actively carry out technological innovation, participate in market competition, help the development of global trade, and make important contributions to the stable and safe operation of the global supply chain. The launch of the 301 investigation by the US side on the grounds that China has adopted “unreasonable discriminatory acts, policies, and practices” in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries is unreasonable and unfounded. There is no causal relationship between the decline in the US shipbuilding industry and China's laws, policies, and practices. Relevant US research reports have also shown that the difficulties faced by the US maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries are mainly due to insufficient competitiveness in the market of their own industries.

On behalf of the Chinese business community, the China Council for the Promotion of Trade and the China Chamber of International Commerce called on the US side to respect the laws of the market economy and the principle of fair competition, immediately stop the wrong practices of the 301 investigation, return to the rules-based multilateral trading system, and promote cooperation between the business communities of various countries and strive for mutual benefit and win-win results to jointly maintain the safety, stability and smooth flow of the global industrial chain supply chain. They will also organize industry enterprises to conduct legal defenses and participate in US hearings with relevant upstream and downstream enterprises to effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.