US Congress explores new tariffs, sanctions to counter China’s shipbuilding dominance

US lawmakers are examining tariffs, port fees and sanctions targeting China’s shipbuilding industry, as US Congress searches for ways to rebuild America’s severely diminished commercial fleet without increasing costs for US importers and consumers.

At a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday, members of both parties described China’s dominance of commercial shipbuilding as an economic and national security vulnerability, but witnesses cautioned that penalties alone would do little...