Just weeks into the new world order, bulk carrier owners were relieved to be told that the US Trade Representative had decided not to charge owners and operators of Chinese bulkers the egregiously excessive port fees that had been mooted. Not $1.5m per call, or even the lesser $50 per net ton for Chinese-owned ships calling at US ports. All bulk ships under 80,000 dwt get a free pass as do bulkers on the Great Lakes and those trading to the Caribbean. This will be a huge relief to US exporters of grains and beans who tend to use ships up to panamax size. The new rules are scheduled to take effect from October 2025, which gives ample time for them to be watered down, replaced or entirely forgotten as the US administration continues to have its attention distracted on a daily basis. The Chinese politburo will meet at the end of April to discuss subsidy measures to maintain economic growth. Meanwhile, Beijing has announced that some US products will not be subject to tariffs. With Trump saying that he will be “nice” to China, it seems both sides are pulling back from the brink, at least for now. Sadly, none of this has had time to filter into the bulk carrier freight market. The Baltic Dry Index followed a 30% rise in March to 1,598 points with a 16% fall in April to 1,373 points, making this the worst April since 2020 when the world was going into Coronavirus lockdown. The Baltic Capesize Index peaked at 2,893 on March 13 only to lose 1,004 points by April 25, when it was at 1,889 points. Iron ore prices dipped to below $96 in early April and remain just under $100 at the time of writing, having ended March at $105 per tonne. Is this just a wobble? Much depends on what combination of economic stimuli China’s leadership announces in early May. That may depend on China-US talks, though Chinese officials deny any trade discussions are actually taking place. Meanwhile, daily TCEs on the Australia-China voyage, which should have benefited from falling bunker prices, lost 25% in the first 25 days of April, dribbling to a mediocre $14,444 per day. TCEs on the Brazil-China route fared equally badly, also losing 25% to sit at $16,780. The transpacific trade war hit panamax earnings hard with TCEs for the panamax north Pacific round voyage losing 21% so far in April, to land at $12,130 per day as of April 25, though they had been as low as $11,519 on April 14. Dollar-per-day rates for the kamsarmax voyage from Mississippi to Qingdao varied surprisingly little in April, starting the month at $18,045 and ending up on the 25th at $18,522. However, with the cap on US port fees coming in at 80,000 dwt, Mississippi may see fewer kamsarmaxes after October this year. Kamsarmax rates from Santos to Qingdao lost 6% over April, falling to $13,249 per day. There was a 14% fall so far in April in panamax freight rates on the South China – Indonesia and back thermal coal round voyage. TCEs for this round trip sat at $11,483 on April 25 via a low of $10,475 on April 17. There appears to be an issue around ship sizes as freight rates on the same voyage for ultramax bulkers rose by 13% over the same dates to $16,011. Ultramax earnings have been variable and unpredictable this month. TCEs on the North China to West Africa trip out were stable, ending March at $13,670 and sitting at $14,068 on April 25. The North China – Australia round voyage lost 10% over the same dates, falling to $11,644. The trip out from the Indian Ocean to China rose 3% to $11,667. In the Atla