China’s Ministry of Transport confirmed on Monday, November 9, that it would extend the suspension of special port fees levied on US-linked vessels until January 10, 2027, alongside a continued suspension of a probe into the shipping and shipbuilding supply chain. The move mirrors a parallel extension of relief on the US side of the dispute and comes as both governments implement commitments made during trade talks in Kuala Lumpur and a September summit in Washington.
Beijing’s State Council also extended the suspension of an additional 24 percent tariff on US imports for two months from 1:01 p.m. (0501 GMT) on Tuesday, while a baseline 10 percent tariff on those goods remains in place. The announcements land just ahead of an expected meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China next week, the third such meeting between the two leaders this year.
Origins of the Dueling Port Fee Regimes
The standoff traces back to October 2025, when the United States implemented Section 301 fees on vessels operated by Chinese companies calling at US ports, as well as on all Chinese-built commercial shipping. The US measure was broad, reaching international shipping companies that build tonnage in China regardless of ownership, prompting Beijing to respond with its own reciprocal port charges targeting US-built and US-flagged commercial vessels.
China’s countermeasures were narrower in scope, targeting small segments of international trade and shipping calling at Chinese ports, but they still raised compliance costs and uncertainty for operators with any US nexus. Both sides agreed to a one-year suspension of their respective fees beginning November 10, 2025, a truce that has now been extended rather than allowed to lapse as originally scheduled this month.
Terms of the Latest Extension
China’s transport ministry said the suspension of special port fees on US-linked vessels would run until January 10, 2027, the same date set for the continued suspension of 11 US firms on its unreliable entities list and 16 on its export control list. The ministry also confirmed it would keep paused its investigation into shipping and shipbuilding supply chain security, a probe that had previously named five US-linked Hanwha Ocean subsidiaries, including Hanwha Shipping LLC and Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc, as subject to countermeasures.
China’s State Council tariffs commission framed the extension as implementing the outcomes and consensus reached at the Washington meeting between the two heads of state. The commission added that Beijing would closely follow subsequent measures taken by the US side and adjust its own tariff countermeasures as appropriate, language that leaves open the possibility of renewed friction if Washington alters course on Section 301 enforcement.
Trade Truce Context and Outstanding Issues
The port fee extension is bundled with broader tariff relief following September’s Washington summit, where both sides proposed a $60 billion package of reciprocal tariff cuts, including roughly $17 billion worth of US farm goods that China imported in 2024, though that plan has yet to be finalized. China noted that Washington has repeatedly stated its intention to use Section 301 tariffs to replace levies imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act that US courts have ruled invalid.
The extension gives shipowners and carriers operating US-China routes continued relief from a potentially costly dual-fee structure heading into the new year. COSCO Shipping and other Chinese-linked carriers, along with US-flagged and US-built tonnage, remain exempt from the respective charges for now, though the arrangement’s two-month and 14-month horizons on different elements of the truce underscore its provisional nature ahead of the Xi-Trump summit.
Why it matters
The extended truce removes, for now, a significant source of cost uncertainty for container and bulk operators serving transpacific trade lanes, benefiting both Chinese state carriers and US-linked shipbuilders such as Hanwha Ocean’s American subsidiaries. A lapse in either country’s fee suspension could have triggered retaliatory cost spirals affecting freight rates and vessel deployment decisions across one of the world’s busiest trade corridors. The provisional, short-dated nature of parts of the agreement, however, means the shipping industry continues to operate under the shadow of renewed tariff escalation pending the outcome of the Xi-Trump meeting in China.
Source: The Maritime Executive
