The US-China Port Fee Truce Has an Expiration Date — And Nobody Knows What Comes Next

The most consequential standoff in modern US maritime policy is currently on pause. And that's precisely what has the shipping industry nervous.

Last November, following the Trump-Xi summit in South Korea, Washington and Beijing agreed to a mutual suspension of the tit-for-tat port fees each had levied against the other's vessels. The ceasefire runs through November 9, 2026 — a deadline now looming over every chartering decision, fleet deployment, and contract negotiation in the transpacific trade.

The backdrop is dramatic. In April 2025, the US Trade Representative rolled out Section 301 port fees targeting Chinese-built and Chinese-operated vessels calling at American ports — $50 per net ton for Chinese-owned ships, $18 per net ton for Chinese-built vessels, with rates escalating annually through 2028. Beijing hit back within days, imposing mirror-image charges on US-linked vessels docking in China, starting at 400 yuan per net ton and climbing steeply. For the largest carriers, a single port call could have triggered fees approaching $5 million.

The industry exhaled when the suspension came. Maritime groups welcomed the breathing room. The Pacific Merchant Shipping Association said the pause would allow "a continuation of conversations." Wallenius Wilhelmsen's CEO called it an appropriate step for capital planning certainty.

But labour unions were furious. A joint statement from the USW, IAM, IBEW, and IBB accused the administration of sidelining workers and shipyards "in favour of short-term considerations" — a pointed critique given that the entire fee regime was born from a union-backed Section 301 petition.

The USTR says it will assess whether to extend or reinstate the fees before the deadline. Meanwhile, Japan has pledged $500 billion and South Korea $150 billion in US shipbuilding investment.

The truce bought time. Whether it bought a strategy remains the open question.