Washington, Oct. 14 (EFE).- The United States Federal Maritime Commission proposed on Wednesday imposing fees of 200,000 dollars per voyage on Spanish-flagged ships and restricting imports from Spain, such as oils, perfumes, ceramics, beauty products, and confectionery.
The FMC justified the decision on an investigation that “found conclusive evidence that Spain denied US-flagged vessels access to its ports, and that these actions created unfavorable shipping conditions in the foreign trade.”
According to the FMC, Spain denied docking privileges at the port of Algeciras to US-flagged cargo ships operated by the Maersk Line allegedly carrying arms to Israel in November 2024.
According to the agency, several vessels were transporting cargo under the US Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Maritime Security Program, and Maersk claimed that the cargo did not include weapons or ammunition.
The FMC then proposed “two sets of remedies” to “address these unfavorable conditions created by Spain”: a 200,000 dollars fee and trade restrictions.
The proposal also follows US President Donald Trump’s repeated calls for commercial sanctions against Spain due to disagreements with Madrid over NATO defense spending and the war against Iran. EFE
asb/mcd
