The US Trade Representative has not finalised its two-month extension of the Section 301 fee pause on China-linked ships, one week before the current reprieve runs out. The pause expires on 9 November. Without a final order, the fees would apply to vessel calls from 10 November3, 5.
USTR issued the proposal on 26 October and took comments until 30 October6, 5. Trade coverage on 1 November still called it a proposed delay1, 2.
Some outlets read the notice differently. Seatrade Maritime News headlined the move as a formalised suspension on 26 October7. Supply Chain Dive said USTR was still weighing the extension8. USTR's own text said the agency was "proposing to further suspend for two months"9, and Transport Topics reported it would apply "if approved"6. According to the documents, the relief is not yet in force.
What returns if the pause lapses
The suspended measures sit in three annexes of the 2025 Section 301 action. They cover fees on China-owned or China-operated vessels, a separate fee on Chinese-built vessels, and a fee on certain foreign-built vehicle carriers3. The suspension also covers duties on ship-to-shore cranes, cargo-handling equipment and intermodal tariffs7, 3.
Platts reported the rates as $50 per net ton per voyage for Chinese-owned or operated vessels and $18 per net ton, or $120 per container discharged, for Chinese-built vessels4. An earlier USTR proposal had gone as high as $1.5 million per port call10.
The cost lands first on the operator. During the less than four weeks the fees were live after 14 October 2025, Matson reported $6.4 million in reciprocal Chinese port fees. COSCO faced an estimated $1.5 billion in annual US charges, gCaptain reported3. Washington suspended the measures on 10 November 2025 as part of the Trump-Xi agreement3.
Carriers say they may leave
Grimaldi Group used its 30 October filing to ask for more than a temporary reprieve. The Italian operator runs roll-on/roll-off, container and pure car and truck carriers, and wants Annex III dropped permanently5.
Grimaldi said its American customers feared a redeployment. The filing said they "have expressed concern at the thought of Grimaldi redeploying its ships out of US trades"5. It tied that concern to the risk that the further suspension is not implemented5.
Grimaldi said it carried nearly 985,000 tons of US exports and 1.31 million tons of imports in the past three years. It said 74.7% of its US import volume was cargo belonging to American automakers, and that 86% of its cargo in US trades was US exports or imports tied to those automakers5.
Atlantic Container Line made a narrower complaint. Its chief executive, Andy Abbott, told gCaptain that the vehicle-carrier label was wrong for its ships. "ACL's unique ships were mistakenly classified by USTR as vehicle carriers even though only 1% of its cargo is automobiles," he said5. He said its largest US container and heavy machinery customers feared a redeployment to the China trade5.
Neither company sets out how it would recover the cost. Grimaldi's filing and ACL's public comments focus on redeployment instead5. The Annex III fee reaches foreign-built vehicle carriers, so it applies to operators whose ships are neither Chinese-owned nor Chinese-built5. That is why carriers outside China are lobbying hardest for relief.
Who else is exposed
The reach goes beyond car carriers. Chinese yards took 81.8% of global new orders in the first nine months of 2026 and hold a backlog of more than 399 million deadweight tons11. A bigger share of Chinese-built tonnage in the fleet is therefore likely in the years ahead.
ICIS noted that most liquid tankers are built in China, Japan and South Korea. It added that container ships carry polymers such as polyethylene and polypropylene, and liquid chemicals in isotanks10.
Bulk exporters are exposed too. The National Coal Council has asked Washington to make the suspension permanent, saying the maritime actions would raise transport costs, cut vessel availability and weaken US coal exports4.
A softer market to absorb it
Spot container rates are falling into the deadline. Drewry put Shanghai to Los Angeles at $7,514 per 40ft on 30 October, down 6% on the week, and Shanghai to New York at $9,631, down 5%12. Drewry cited a National Retail Federation forecast that US ocean import volumes would fall 11% month on month in November12.
Shippers had front-loaded cargo this year, creating an early peak season, partly because of uncertainty over these fees and tariffs11. A per-voyage charge would land on a weaker market. That makes the cost harder for carriers to absorb and harder to pass on, and easier to avoid by moving the ship.
What to watch before 9 November
USTR must publish a final order before the pause lapses for the relief to continue. If it does, the measures would stay suspended from 10 November to 9 January 20273. The notice does not say whether China will extend its own suspension of retaliatory fees on US-linked vessels3.
There is pressure from both sides. Senators Mark Kelly and Elizabeth Warren urged USTR in June to restore the charges, calling them "critical to revitalizing U.S. shipbuilding"3. Maritime labour groups have made similar arguments5. Trump and Xi are expected to meet again in November, which gives both sides a reason to keep the truce alive4.
The administration is also considering a wider port fee system under its Maritime Action Plan, with charges of 1 cent to 25 cents per kilogram of imported cargo3. That is a separate decision from the 9 November deadline3. The immediate test is narrower: whether USTR publishes a final order before 9 November3.