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Syria Agrees to New Contract with CMA CGM to Operate Latakia Port Container Terminal

Container Ship CMA CGM Rigoletto moored at a container terminal at the Port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California on February 3, 2025. (AFP)
Container Ship CMA CGM Rigoletto moored at a container terminal at the Port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California on February 3, 2025. (AFP)
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Syria Agrees to New Contract with CMA CGM to Operate Latakia Port Container Terminal

Container Ship CMA CGM Rigoletto moored at a container terminal at the Port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California on February 3, 2025. (AFP)
Container Ship CMA CGM Rigoletto moored at a container terminal at the Port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California on February 3, 2025. (AFP)

Syria's General Authority for Land and Sea Ports said on Wednesday that it had agreed to a new contract with French shipping and logistics group CMA CGM to operate the container terminal at the Latakia port.

The Syrian port authority said in a statement that the contract would include new terms and mechanisms, and the settling of all previous dues by both sides, without providing details.

CMA CGM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A Syrian source familiar with the negotiations told Reuters that the talks leading up to the new contract included changes to revenue distribution and the length of the contract.

The source said Syrian authorities had hoped to negotiate a larger share of the revenues than the previous contract, a shorter timeframe for the terminal lease and technical improvements, including a new ship deck.

Latakia port is Syria's main maritime gateway. CMA CGM began managing Latakia's container terminal in 2009 and the contract was repeatedly renewed, most recently in October 2024 for an additional 30 years by authorities under Syria's now-toppled leader Bashar al-Assad.

Assad was ousted from power on Dec. 8 by a lightning rebel offensive, and a transitional government is now in power.

CMA CGM is controlled by Franco-Lebanese billionaire Rodolphe Saade and other members of his family which has roots in Syria.

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Trump Says Fresh US-China Trade Talks in London Next Week

The upcoming meeting in London comes after a call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump aimed at calming tensions over tariffs. Evgenia Novozhenina, SAUL LOEB / POOL/AFP/File
The upcoming meeting in London comes after a call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump aimed at calming tensions over tariffs. Evgenia Novozhenina, SAUL LOEB / POOL/AFP/File
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Trump Says Fresh US-China Trade Talks in London Next Week

The upcoming meeting in London comes after a call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump aimed at calming tensions over tariffs. Evgenia Novozhenina, SAUL LOEB / POOL/AFP/File
The upcoming meeting in London comes after a call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump aimed at calming tensions over tariffs. Evgenia Novozhenina, SAUL LOEB / POOL/AFP/File

US President Donald Trump announced Friday a new round of trade talks with China in London next week, a day after calling Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in a bid to end a bitter battle over tariffs.

The talks in the British capital on Monday will mark the second round of such negotiations between the world's two biggest economies since Trump launched his trade war this year.
"The meeting should go very well," said Trump in a post on his Truth Social platform.
The president added that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would meet the Chinese team.
The first talks between Washington and Beijing since Trump slapped levies on allies and adversaries alike took place in Geneva last month.
While Trump had imposed a sweeping 10 percent duty on imports from most trading partners, rates on Chinese goods rocketed as both countries engaged in an escalating tariffs battle.
In April, additional US tariffs on many Chinese products hit 145 percent while China hit back with countermeasures of 125 percent.
Following the talks last month, both sides agreed to temporarily bring down the levels, with US tariffs cooling to 30 percent and China's levies at 10 percent.
But this temporary halt is expected to expire in early August and Trump last week accused China of violating the pact, underscoring deeper differences on both sides.
US officials have accused China of slow-walking export approvals of critical minerals and rare earth magnets, a key issue behind Trump's recent remarks.
While Trump's long-awaited phone call with Xi this week likely paved the way for further high-level trade talks, a swift resolution to the tariffs impasse remains uncertain.