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Trade Policy

USTR extends pause on China ship fees and port crane duties to Jan. 9

The two-month extension took effect Nov. 9, the day the original one-year suspension was due to end, and USTR says talks with Beijing continue.

By Kwame ·
Container cranes at a port terminal beside the water, with ships docked in the background at sunset
Photo: Frank Schulenburg, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

U.S. port fees and crane duties aimed at China's maritime sector will stay switched off for at least two more months.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a notice dated Nov. 6 that it is further suspending its Section 301 actions on China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors through 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Jan. 9, 2027. The extension took effect Nov. 9, the day the original one-year suspension was set to expire.

What stays on hold

During the suspension, no one accrues liability for or has to pay:

  • the fees on maritime transport services set out in Annexes I, II and III of USTR's April 2025 action, as later modified, and
  • the additional duties on ship-to-shore cranes and other cargo handling equipment from China in Annex V.A.

To make the change, USTR amended Harmonized Tariff Schedule headings 9903.91.12 through 9903.91.16, replacing the Nov. 10, 2026 date with Jan. 10, 2027.

How we got here

USTR imposed the fees and crane duties in 2025. After the White House announced a trade deal with China on Nov. 1, 2025, USTR suspended the actions from Nov. 10, 2025 through Nov. 9, 2026. On Oct. 23, 2026, it proposed the two-month extension and asked for comments.

The agency said it received about 60 unique comments. Supporters said a further pause would avoid higher shipping costs and commercial disruption, and some urged USTR to drop one or all of the service fees permanently. Opponents argued the measures are needed to encourage investment in U.S. shipbuilding and related industries such as containers. Some commenters asked USTR to end the pause on the crane and cargo handling equipment tariffs and deal with them separately from the ship fees.

USTR said talks with China on the issues in the investigation are ongoing. It will keep monitoring and will consider, before the Jan. 10, 2027 deadline, whether to extend the suspension again or take further action.

Why it matters on the landside

Commenters who backed the pause told USTR it would avoid higher shipping costs and commercial disruption. For truckers and drayage carriers moving import boxes, the extension keeps that question off the table through the holiday season and into January.

The notice and earlier documents are posted on USTR's Section 301 maritime investigation page.

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