USTR port fees on Chinese ships

• 9 Jan 2027: USTR's suspension of the Section 301 port fees ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time unless extended (public-inspection.federalregister.gov).
• 10 Jan 2027: China's suspension of its special port fees on US-linked ships ends (shippingtelegraph.com).

• USTR further suspended the Section 301 maritime actions, effective 9 November 2026, "through 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 9, 2027". The body of the same notice says "until January 10, 2027". Source: public-inspection.federalregister.gov (as of 2026-11-10)
• While the pause lasts, "no party will accrue liability for or be required to pay the fees on maritime transport services." Source: public-inspection.federalregister.gov (as of 2026-11-10)
• The first one-year suspension ran from 10 November 2025 through 9 November 2026. Source: public-inspection.federalregister.gov (as of 2026-11-10)
• USTR proposed the two-month extension in a Federal Register notice on 26 October 2026 and took comments until 30 October. It received about 60 unique comments. Sources: gcaptain.com (as of 2026-10-23); shippingtelegraph.com (as of 2026-11-10)
• Absent further action, "the port fees on maritime transport services and related duties would otherwise resume." Source: hklaw.com (as of 2026-10-26)
• China's Ministry of Transport extended its own suspension of special port fees on US-linked ships to 10 January 2027. Source: shippingtelegraph.com (as of 2026-11-10)
• USTR's April 2025 schedule set the fee on Chinese owners and operators at $50 per net ton from 14 October 2025, rising to $80 (17 April 2026), $110 (17 April 2027) and $140 (17 April 2028). The suspension notices do not say which step would apply if the fees resume. Sources: flexport.com (as of 2025-04-24); public-inspection.federalregister.gov (as of 2026-11-10)
• The schedule set the fee on Chinese-built ships at the higher of $18 per net ton or $120 per container from 14 October 2025, rising to $23 or $153 (17 April 2026), $28 or $195 (17 April 2027) and $33 or $250 (17 April 2028). Source: flexport.com (as of 2025-04-24)
• The fee on foreign-built car carriers was "set at $150 per CEU capacity of the entering foreign-built vessel beginning on October 14, 2025." It does not rise each year. Source: whitecase.com (as of 2025-05-12)

Added from the tracker list. The Section 301 port fees are charged per US port call on ships run by Chinese companies or built in China. Carriers can pass these costs on to shippers as surcharges, so forwarders need to know whether the fees are in force, at what rate, and when that could change.