Retailers, manufacturers and logistics firms warn reinstating per-container levies would add costs to an already strained U.S. transportation system and say the fees won’t fix underlying domestic shipbuilding weaknesses.
A coalition of 238 maritime stakeholders asked the U.S. Trade Representative to extend the one-year suspension of fees on China-linked vessels that was put in place in November 2025.
The proposed fees—previously up to $120 per container—would add costs amid elevated transportation expenses, capacity shifts, equipment shortages and port and inland constraints.
The U.S.-China trade truce was extended after a Washington summit, but the agreement didn’t clarify the future of the port fees or corresponding Chinese measures.
# What happened A coalition of retailers, manufacturers, logistics providers and freight businesses wrote to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on September 23 asking the agency to prolong the suspension of planned port entry fees targeting vessels with ties to China.
# Why the suspension exists The Trump administration proposed fees of up to $120 per container in October 2025. Officials said the measure addressed national security concerns tied to China's dominant role in global shipbuilding and aimed to boost a dormant U.S. commercial shipbuilding sector. The USTR suspended those fees for one year on November 10, 2025.
# Why trade groups want the pause extended The coalition told the USTR the levies would "add another cost layer to an already strained transportation system." Their letter lists present pressures on U.S. supply chains:
They argue that adding container-level fees would increase costs for importers, exporters, retailers, manufacturers and agricultural producers while the system still grapples with these issues.
# Their argument on shipbuilding policy The signatories say port fees won't solve long-term U.S. shipbuilding problems. Instead of penalties on vessels purchased years ago, the coalition calls for a sustained strategy that includes:
They explicitly describe the fees as an interim measure that won't substitute for a long-term industrial policy and sustained funding.
# Where this stands with U.S.-China talks After a week-long summit in Washington, the U.S. and China extended a broader trade truce and took steps to reduce tariffs on up to $60 billion of goods. The summit communiqué did not resolve the fate of the U.S. port fees set to expire in early November, nor did it address China's reciprocal fees that were paused when the U.S. suspension began.
# Why this matters to supply chains
# What to watch next Watch for a USTR decision on whether to extend the suspension beyond the original one-year pause. Also track whether further negotiations between Washington and Beijing include explicit language on port-fee policies or timelines for lifting the suspension.
The apparent two-month reprieve provides some relief to the 238 trade group signatories of a letter sent this week to the USTR urging the Trump administration to extend its suspension of the port fees, warning that renewed charges would increase shipping costs across the economy.
The National Retail Federation and others said a continued halt to fees would help ease uncertainty as stakeholders face elevated transportation costs.
U.S. port-entry fees on China-linked and China-built vessels could be delayed under the broader trade truce extension. The post No mention of U.S.-China ship taxes in trade truce appeared first on FreightWaves .
Quick update: Washington and Beijing have pushed their Busan truce, including the suspension of port fees on each other’s ships, to 10 January. That buys shippers time, and it sets a new cliff four weeks before Chinese New Year. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on 23 September that Washington and Beijing had agree
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