More than 250 groups seek permanent end to China-linked vessel fees

More than 250 stakeholders, including the National Association of Manufacturers, National Retail Federation, World Shipping Council and U.S. Dairy Export Council, asked U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Oct. 30 to permanently suspend Section 301 fees on China-built or China-linked vessels.

The request comes as the current one-year suspension nears its Nov. 9 end. Last month, USTR proposed extending the pause until Jan. 9, 2027, and sought public comments through a federal filing. That filing set an Oct. 30 comment deadline; the stakeholder letter carried the same date.

What changes when the suspension ends?

The suspended fees range from $18 per ton to $120 per container. The policy aims to incentivize domestic shipbuilding by offering vessel owners an exemption of up to three years if they order a new U.S.-built vessel.

In the Oct. 30 letter, stakeholders said fees set for January 2027 would “add another cost layer to an already strained transportation system.” They also wrote that China-built vessels represent “a meaningful share of global ocean carrier capacity,” so the practical effect of the fees would extend beyond a narrow set of market participants.

Where do shippers feel the cost?

Stakeholders warned that restoring the charges would increase uncertainty for shippers, who have limited control over the operations or construction of the vessels carrying their goods. The signatories include organizations representing importers, retailers, manufacturers and other freight users, according to the Oct. 30 letter.

On the Transpacific trade lane, ocean freight rates have remained elevated this year as the Iran war and tariffs pushed shippers away from traditional shipping patterns. Higher diesel prices have added to transportation costs, the groups said.

The letter provides no Transpacific rate index, booking volume, container count or fuel-price percentage, so it establishes the direction of those cost pressures rather than their magnitude. For freight buyers, the fee question therefore sits within an already elevated-cost market rather than around an isolated policy change.

Can fees alone revive U.S. shipbuilding?

The groups argue that the year-long pause showed vessel fees alone cannot revive U.S. shipbuilding. The letter identifies three constraints contributing to China’s dominance:

• Limited domestic shipbuilding capacity.
• Workforce constraints.
• A lack of competitive alternatives.

The letter gives no figures for domestic shipbuilding capacity, workforce availability or competitive alternatives. It does not set a timetable for adding U.S.-built capacity if the charges returned.

The exemption offers up to three years of fee relief to owners who order a new U.S.-built vessel, but the letter sets no vessel-order target, tonnage estimate or shipbuilding-output forecast against which to judge that incentive.

Nor does the letter quantify how many China-linked vessels would face the charge or how much freight rates might rise after a restart. That leaves shippers without a quantified basis for budgeting a January 2027 restart.

What would a longer pause deliver?

The letter argues that a continued pause or permanent suspension “would also provide USTR additional time to continue negotiations with China, coordinate with allies and partners, and pursue policies that expand U.S. shipbuilding and maritime capabilities without imposing near-term costs on American freight users.”

An extension to Jan. 9, 2027 would postpone the fee decision from Nov. 9; permanent suspension would drop the vessel-fee option. The letter treats both routes as ways to preserve policy time, but it names neither the wider shipbuilding policies nor any negotiating partners or timetable.

USTR must decide whether to let the current suspension end Nov. 9, adopt the proposed Jan. 9, 2027 extension or grant the permanent suspension requested by more than 250 stakeholders. If the proposed extension expires without further action, charges of $18 per ton to $120 per container could return as Transpacific freight rates remain elevated and diesel costs stay higher.