Newly confirmed US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick has said President Trump will order crackdowns on cruise operators, like Royal Caribbean and NCL, after claiming “none of them pay taxes”

Appearing on Fox News on Wednesday night, Lutnick suggested the federal government will target cruise lines who, he claims, avoid paying tax in America by registering their ships in countries with more lenient laws, despite being headquartered in the US.

Both Royal Caribbean and Norweigian Cruise Line (NCL) are based in Miami, Florida, but are incorporated in Liberia and Bermuda, respectively. Carnival Corporation, while also based in Miami, is incorporated in Panama.

He said: “You ever see a cruise ship with an American flag on the back? They have flags of like Liberia or Panama. None of them pay taxes.

“This is going to end under Donald Trump and those taxes are going to be paid and Americans’ tax rates are going to come down.”

The interview, which led to a sudden drop in stock prices for Royal Caribbean, NCL and Carnival Corporation, sparked a swift response from CLIA’s US division.

The association said: “Cruise lines pay substantial taxes and fees in the US – to the tune of nearly $2.5 billion, which represents 65 per cent of the total taxes cruise lines pay worldwide, even though only a very small percentage of operations occur in US waters.

“Foreign flagged ships that visit the US are treated the same for taxation purposes as US flagged ships visiting foreign ports, which provides consistent reciprocal treatment across international shipping.”