Will Biden take the stage to bring changes to global shipping?

• Author: admin
• 2020-07-23

US President-elect Biden, a Democrat, was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States in Washington on the 20th. At the inauguration ceremony on Capitol Hill, 78-year-old Biden completed the oath under the leadership of Chief Justice Roberts of the Federal Supreme Court. He then delivered an inaugural speech of about 20 minutes, saying that the United States is currently facing a series of crises and challenges such as the raging new crown epidemic, increasing social inequality, systemic racism, and climate change.

In fact, the "economic means" of the recently retired US President Donald Trump since January 2017 has had a huge impact on the global shipping industry.



The CEO of HAFNIA Tanker Company said: "He believes that Biden's appointment will bring more stability to the industry."



What needs to be pointed out here is that during Trump's tenure, the tanker transportation industry was frequently sanctioned, such as Iran, Venezuela, and Chinese tanker companies.



This is why everyone, especially everyone in the shipping industry, is now asking themselves two questions: How will the Biden administration abolish the previous actions of the Trump administration? How will he achieve himself?



The Danish shipping media ShippingWatch pointed out in this topic that if someone thinks that shipping companies will agree that after the new president takes office, the trade situation may improve, that is wrong. When asked about some executives in container transportation, tanker and dry bulk transportation, their views were very different.



Container liner companies are a good example. In many respects, liner companies are at the forefront of world trade. Therefore, the consequences of any US President’s trade policy will be personally felt.



Uffe Østergaard, President of Hapag-Lloyd North America, said, "We do not expect trade policy to change, and we expect the policy to continue in some form.



HMM said, “We very much hope that the Biden administration will promote global trade by stimulating the overall economy and reduce the risk of trade liberalism.”



ShippingWatch stated in the report that everyone wants free trade, but will Biden promote free trade? According to Biden's previous remarks, it is clear that he wants the United States to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement. At the same time, he promised to invest US$2 trillion in the next four years and plans to set the goal of achieving 100% green power by 2035, which is especially sweet for offshore wind power operators.



In addition, Biden recently announced that he plans to launch a $1.9 trillion stimulus plan to revive the US economy plagued by the new crown epidemic. But whether it will change the way the United States and China interact is still unknown.



Several executives in the shipping industry hope that Biden can ensure more stable global trade.



Mikael Skov, chief executive officer of Hafnia, a tanker transportation company, said, “Free trade is very important to shipping. I hope that international free trade will be normalized because it has been under pressure.



Klaveness, a Norwegian bulk carrier, said, “I hope to break the Trump administration’s previous trade protectionist policies. From a shipping perspective, we need to open up and we need global trade.”



It is also worth mentioning that Biden has high hopes for climate protection, which makes many shipping executives feel optimistic. Klaveness CEO Kristoffersen expects that Biden can bring the United States back to the direction of green development. Kristoffersen believes that this may also have an impact on the ongoing climate negotiations for the shipping industry. In the shipping industry, many forces including Kristoffersen are also involved and are trying to achieve the ambition of climate response goals. "He will affect the climate process. The United States will switch from the brakes to the accelerator pedal. This will greatly change the trend of climate discussions."



South Korean container shipping company HMM also predicts that Biden will accelerate the process of climate response in the shipping industry. HMM said that as the Biden government supports the implementation of environmental protection policies, the wave of carbon neutrality in our industry will advance at a faster rate.