Tackling the Surcharge Burden in Sea Freight
During recent economic discussions and trade forums, Mr. Nguyen Ly Truong An, Vice Director of SeaAir Global, highlighted the pressing challenges faced by Vietnamese import-export businesses regarding shipping surcharges.
Unregulated Shipping Surcharges
In recent years, foreign shipping lines have introduced a variety of local surcharges (such as Terminal Handling Charges, Documentation Fees, and Container Imbalance Charges) that often escalate without transparent justification. This dynamic directly impacts:
- Profit margins of agricultural and manufacturing exporters.
- National trade competitiveness in key shipping corridors (Transpacific, Europe).
- Logistics budget predictability for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Strategic Recommendations
To resolve these challenges, SeaAir Global and local shipping associations have proposed several core measures:
- Price Declaration Mandate - Bring all maritime surcharges under official price declaration frameworks to prevent arbitrary increases.
- Standardization of Fees - Implement checks against international maritime practices and discontinue unreasonable charges.
- Enhanced Auditing - Introduce oversight mechanisms to inspect super-profits generated from localized logistics fees and enforce fair play.
"A transparent and regulated fee structure is not only essential to protect our domestic exporters but also ensures that national logistics operations remain stable and competitive on a global scale." - Mr. Nguyen Ly Truong An, Vice Director of SeaAir Global
