On October 14, 2025, significant new fees will be imposed by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) on owners and operators of certain Chinese-built, owned, or operated vessels calling at U.S. ports. The USTR has continued to modify these measures, which were issued as a result of its Section 301 Investigation into China’s Targeting the Maritime, Logistics and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance. Parties therefore should carefully monitor the USTR for any further clarifications or modifications.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) issued guidance on Friday, October 3, 2025, indicatingthat vessel operators will be responsible for assessing and paying the new fees under Annexes I through III of the Section 301 measures.
On Friday, October 10, 2025, four days before many fees were due to come into effect, the USTR confirmed some of its previously-proposed modifications to Annexes III and IV, but also issued additional modifications to Annex III and significant additional proposals in relation to Annexes I, II, III and V along with a request for comments. The USTR also confirmed that new Section 301 duties on ship-to-shore cranes and other cargo handling equipment will go into effect under Annex V on November 9, 2025.
The USTR also has deferred payment of Annex I and Annex III charges from October 14 to December 10, 2025 for certain gas carriers as well as certain vehicle carriers and “Ro-Ro” vessels to the extent that those vessels may be subject to the fee modifications proposed in the October 10 Notice.
This article addresses the steps which led to the finalized fees, restrictions and further proposals, the significant questions that remain, and observations regarding the impact of the measures on owners and charterers of vessels under charterparties governed by English law.
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Authors
Eric Olson
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