The Office of the United States Trade Representative is proposing to extend its suspension on Section 301 fees on China-linked vessels until Jan. 9, 2027, according to an Oct. 23 Federal Register filing. The suspension is currently set to lift on Nov. 9.
The proposed extension would “allow for further negotiation with China regarding the acts, policies, and practices at issue in this investigation,” per the federal filing. Comments are being fielded from the public, which are due on Oct. 30.
Last year, the USTR announced fees ranging from $18 per ton to $120 per container due to China’s role in the logistics, maritime and shipbuilding sectors. The policy aimed to incentivize domestic shipbuilding by offering vessel owners an up-to-three-year exemption on fees if they ordered a new U.S.-built vessel. Proposed fees were set to start on Oct. 14 of last year but were first paused until November 2025. A year later, stakeholders are still wary of the fees.
Last month, several trade groups and shipper assocations urged U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to extend the exisitng pause on Section 301 vessel fees. In a letter, stakeholders expressed concern that the fees could further ocean freight market uncertainty, which is facing elevated transportation costs and shifting carrier capacity.
“[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.
