United States: port fees on China-linked vessels remain suspended until 9 November
US port fees targeting Chinese or China-built vessels, decided in April 2025 and in force from 14 October 2025, have been suspended at zero dollars since 10 November 2025 and until 9 November 2026, following the Busan trade agreement. No official source had confirmed, as at 7 October 2026, an extension beyond that date.
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The action by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), finalised on 17 April 2025 and then brought into force on 14 October 2025, was aimed at charging a port service fee on vessels owned or operated by Chinese interests, as well as on vessels built in China but operated by other companies, in response to the scale of Chinese shipbuilding, which accounted for over 56% of global output in 2025.
The schedule provided, for Chinese vessels (Annex I), for 50 dollars per net tonne from October 2025, with scheduled increases to 80 dollars in April 2026, 110 dollars in 2027 and 140 dollars in 2028. For vessels built in China but operated by third-party companies (Annex II), the amount applied was the higher of 18 dollars per net tonne or 120 dollars per container.
Following the trade agreement reached in Busan on 30 October 2025 between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, this schedule was suspended at zero dollars from 10 November 2025, for a period of one year, that is until 11:59pm (Eastern Time) on 9 November 2026. No shipowner accrues or pays any fees during this period.
The extension of the trade truce announced on 24 September 2026 in Washington explicitly covers customs duties and rare earths, but no official source confirms, as at 7 October 2026, that it also covers this suspension of port fees: absent a specific announcement before 9 November 2026, the original schedule would automatically resume on that date.
What it changes for an importer
For an importer, the bulk of the world's container ship fleet is built in China: a resumption of the schedule on 9 November 2026 could translate into a new surcharge passed on by shipowners across routes well beyond US ports of call alone, depending on how each company reassigns its vessels. Sorva follows this matter with its partner freight forwarders and checks, before confirming a booking, whether the chosen service is exposed to this risk.
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