During his recent trip to Asia, President Donald Trump agreed to cooperate on shipbuilding with South Korea and Japan — and agreed with China to a one -year pause on the imposition of fees on Chinese and China-built vessels calling at U.S. ports and vice versa.
Originally the United States was to begin imposing new shipping fees in October that could increase the cost of Chinese goods and potentially reduce imports.
The Trump administration states that for nearly three decades, China has targeted the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance and has employed increasingly aggressive and specific targets in pursuing dominance. Through this new cooperation, the administration now hopes to kick start the U.S. shipbuilding industry.
Cargo imports to the United States carried by ships that either are Chinese-owned or operated by Chinese companies were to face port fees of $46 per ton. Non-Chinese operators of ships built in China also were to face charges. Vessel tonnage ranges from 35,000 tons to 200,000 tons.
An October 10 release from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative outlines the modifications to the original action taken on April 17.
In retaliation, China’s Ministry of Transport had announced that it was matching the Trump administration’s planned increase in port fees on Chinese-owned and -operated ships on U.S-owned or -flagged ships in China. The move was symbolic and would have little impact on the United States.
An April USTR Fact Sheet includes more information about the proposed action against China, as well as links to the history of its investigation.
Background
In March, the California Chamber of Commerce joined more than 300 other organizations urging the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to refrain from imposing proposed actions against China that will hurt U.S. businesses and consumers instead of deterring China’s broader maritime ambitions.
The USTR proposal was in response to the Section 301 investigation of China’s targeting the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors for dominance.
The March 24 letter to the USTR was signed by organizations representing a wide breadth of the nation’s economy, including importers, exporters, farmers and agribusinesses, retailers, manufacturers, energy providers, wholesalers, transportation and logistics providers, and other sectors.
The coalition supports scrutiny of China’s efforts to dominate the maritime industry but argued that the USTR’s proposed actions will not deter China’s broader maritime ambitions and will instead directly hurt American businesses and consumers.
Impact of Fees on Shipping Costs
The letter explained specifically how USTR’s proposed fees would increase shipping costs, container and non-containerized, by at least 25% ($600–$800 or more), adding approximately $30 billion in annual costs on U.S. businesses and farmers.
Further, this will lead to higher prices for U.S. consumers and undermine the competitiveness of many U.S. exports — leading to a decline in export revenues and increasing the U.S. trade deficit, contrary to the Trump administration’s America First trade goals.
Read more about the USTR’s 2024 investigation into the decline of U.S. shipbuilding and the public hearings in March 2025 on its proposed action in the April 4 Alert.
Staff Contact: Susanne T. Stirling
