This gone far enough.
First: There's no rule anymore stating that half the shields constitute as an attack. An attack does constitute as an attack.
Second: With this change of the rules was a very important and the, besides shooting the pirate down, only win-condition a trader had eliminated. That be making it savely to a docking spot after getting shot at.
There's no lose-scenario for the pirate anymore, as long they can successfully CD a ship and opening fire after a demand.
Trader dies - trader is pvp-dead (which he was before this change in this case too). >> Pirate wins, though doesn't gain credits.
Trader docks - trader is pvp-dead. >> Pirate wins, though doesn't gain credits.
Trader pays - trader isn't pvp-dead but still lost the encounter >> Pirate wins, and got his credits.
The intend behind this change is understood and a good one, the implementation isn't going to cut it. It benefits pirates in every possible way and eliminates the only win-condition traders had besides shooting down the pirate, which already was very unlikely.