The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) granted a two-month extension of its pause of Section 301 maritime fees on Chinese-built and -operated ships docking at American ports effective Monday.
The suspension pushes back the imposition of these fees to 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Jan. 9, 2027.
China matched the move Monday, extending its own suspension of special port fees on U.S.-linked vessels until Jan. 10, enabling both parties to avert a cliff that had been set to arrive Tuesday, at the end of the current one-year pause.
The U.S. decision was filed on Monday at 8:45 a.m. and is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on Tuesday.
The extension also covers separate duties set to be placed on ship-to-shore cranes and other cargo-handling equipment. USTR said it received about 60 unique comments on the Oct. 26 proposal, and it extended all 178 Section 301 product exclusions through the new January expiration date.
China’s transport ministry made its announcement the same day the country’s customs tariff commission said an additional 24 percent tariff on U.S. goods will be suspended through Jan. 10. The additional 10 percent tariff remains in place.
Many U.S. shippers in support of a pause had warned of ramifications to American supply chains and businesses.
On Oct. 30, the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) told the USTR that U.S. apparel exports could decline 5 percent if any Section 301 measures or fees were levied on Chinese ships. The trade association also cited a potential 4 percent loss in employment and output for the U.S. fashion and apparel industry.
“We are pleased that the threat of port fees is postponed,” USFIA president Julia Hughes told Sourcing Journal. “We hope that the January deadline for the U.S.-China trade truce will lead to the resolution of the outstanding threats to trade.”
The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) maintained its positioning it held in its own October comments, when it noted that a lack of long-term solution could upend shipping contracts and seasonal production schedules.
“AAFA supports extending the suspension of both port fees and duties on shipping equipment to provide continued relief for U.S. shippers and supply chains,” said Audrey Clark, manager of trade and transportation of AAFA on Monday. “We urge USTR to announce a longer-term resolution as soon as possible to provide certainty for American businesses and prevent the reinstatement of costly and disruptive measures.”
And the National Retail Federation (NRF) warned of higher costs on top of the unpredictability the fees brought to the container shipping industry, noting that capacity constraints could lead to more volatile ocean freight rates.
The fees at issue trace back to a probe opened in April 2024 into China’s alleged dominance of the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors. That Section 301 investigation ruled that China’s practices across the sectors were “unreasonable,” noting that it mandated market entrants to adhere to state industrial targets, provided subsidies and state financing to reach those targets and directed mergers between “favored” state-owned companies.
The USTR has said the practices displaced foreign firms, undercut investment in U.S. maritime industries, restricted global competition and created dependencies in sectors critical to the American economy.
The short-lived punitive measures from both the U.S. and China took effect Oct. 14, 2025 before being suspended for one year Nov. 10, 2025 after a meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea. That sit-down eased some of the trade tensions that had escalated throughout the year, with the U.S. agreeing to cut down fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese products.
In the brief time the fees were enacted, they were costly to those directly impacted. Cosco Shipping and subsidiary Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) forked over $42.8 million in fees the first week the penalties went into effect. Matson, the U.S. container shipping line most exposed to China’s reciprocal fees, paid $6.4 million to dock at Chinese ports in late 2025.
Although the pause is now in place after weeks of speculation as to whether an extension would go into effect, Monday’s notice from the USTR indicated “the circumstances that warranted the initial suspension continue to exist.”
“During this further suspension, the United States will continue discussions with China to address the acts, policies and practices at issue in this investigation and take actions to expand domestic commercial shipbuilding capacity, build a resilient workforce, and continue to partner with key allies to increase U.S. shipbuilding capacity,” said Jennifer Thornton, general counsel of the USTR’s office, in the notice.
The Trump administration has sought to narrow the shipbuilding gap between the U.S. and China, publishing a strategy in February called “America’s Maritime Action Plan” aimed at reducing U.S. reliance on foreign-built, -crewed and -flagged vessels. Multiple pieces of bipartisan legislation intended to revitalize the American maritime fleet have also been floated in Congress.
Despite the lawmakers’ efforts, the output has barely budged. As of July, the U.S. was building just 15 cargo ships, against more than 4,000 in China, according to BRS Shipbrokers. Of the 15 in progress, 12 of those will be mostly constructed in South Korea.
