shipper

With the necessary documentation, shippers will pay duties based on the country of origin's tariff rate.

The White House said ending the duty-free exemption would combat "escalating deceptive shipping practices, illegal material, and duty circumvention", claiming some shippers had "abused" the exemption to send illicit drugs into the US.

It also said some shippers were circumventing duties by falsely reporting the country of origin for goods entering the US.

That forced shippers to look elsewhere and many of them alighted on Thailand and other countries in south-east Asia.

That’s a decline from the 17 container ships that typically arrive every three days at this time of year, according to a memo from a trade group that represents shippers.