Trade groups urge USTR to extend pause on China-linked ship fees

Several shipper associations, trade groups and logistics providers are urging U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to extend the current suspension of Section 301 vessel fees on China, according to a Sept. 23 letter  to the agency. Last year, the USTR said that many China-linked ships arriving at U.S. ports could be subject to fees ranging from $18 per net ton to $120 per container, which would rise every subsequent April. While some exceptions applied, the fees aimed to target vessels built in China, or owned or operated by an entity tied to the country, and were set to start in October 2025. However, the fees were suspended Nov. 10, 2025, and set to expire Nov. 9 of this year. The fees, which are part of a broader push by President Donald Trump to strengthen and reposition the U.S.’ role in ocean shipping , resulted from a year-long Section 301 investigation on China’s role in the logistics, maritime and shipbuilding sectors. At the time, while some industry leaders supported the policy, other stakeholders were concerned the fees would increase shipping costs and consumer prices. The American Association of Port Authorities, for instance, had said the fees could reduce volumes through the U.S. trade gateways. The National Retail Federation also said that potential tariffs on cranes and other cargo handling equipment would only negate efforts to achieve the overall goal of the administration. A year later, stakeholders are concerned the fees could bring further uncertainty to the ocean freight market, which is facing elevated transportation costs  and shifting carrier capacity . Shippers are also seeing equipment availability challenges, port and inland network constraints, and broader uncertainty in global trade lanes, according to the letter. “[I]mposing new or resumed fees on China-built or China-linked vessels would create immediate and far-reaching consequences for U.S. companies that rely on ocean transportation to move goods into and out of the United States,” stakeholders wrote in the letter to Greer. Extending the pause could also help agriculture producers and manufacturers preserve cost-effective access to foreign markets and reduce the risk of retaliatory measures, while also supporting competitiveness of U.S.-origin goods abroad, per the letter. The letter to Greer, signed by the NRF, Retail Industry Leaders Association, Agriculture Transportation Coalition, among others, comes ahead of Trump’s meeting with China President Xi Jinping in Washington, D.C .