The United States Trade Representative (USTR) on February 21 announced a proposal to impose significant port fees on Chinese shipping companies, Chinese-built ships, and any operator with Chinese-built vessels in their fleet or on order from Chinese shipyards.
The move targets China’s dominance in maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors, following a USTR investigation launched in March 2024 at the request of U.S. labor unions, which concluded in January that China employs unfair practices.
Under the proposal, fees would reach $1.5 million per U.S. port call for Chinese-built ships, $1 million per call for China-based operators like Cosco—the world’s fourth-largest container line—and $500,000 per call for operators with even a single Chinese-built ship, regardless of whether it calls at U.S. ports.
For operators with 50% or more Chinese-built ships in their fleet, each U.S. port call would cost $1 million; for those with 26-49%, the fee would be $750,000; and for fleets with up to 25% Chinese-built ships, the charge would be $500,000. Container lines, making multiple U.S. port calls per service loop—such as Asia-U.S. east coast routes with two to three stops—could face fees of $2 million to $3 million per loop.
The proposal, published in the Federal Register, also includes new U.S. export cargo preference rules requiring a portion of U.S. goods to be transported on American-flagged and crewed ships. It follows a January report finding China’s practices unreasonable, burdening U.S. commerce by displacing foreign firms, reducing competition, and creating dependencies.
The decision to implement these fees rests with President Donald Trump, with public comments accepted until March 24, followed by a hearing on the same date.
About 17% of container vessels calling U.S. ports are Chinese-made, totaling 1.29 million of the 28.2 million TEUs imported by the U.S. in 2024, according to Linerlytica.
The fees could disrupt global supply chains, with carriers like Cosco, part of the Ocean Alliance alongside CMA CGM, Evergreen, and OOCL, likely passing costs to shippers via surcharges or higher freight rates, potentially raising prices for U.S. imported goods.
The USTR’s action builds on broader U.S.-China trade tensions, including a 10% tariff on all Chinese goods announced by Trump in early February 2025, targeting sectors like semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.