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TransportNewsCA · US · MX corridorFreight markets and cross-border tradeWednesday, November 4, 2026
Trade Policy

USTR proposes to keep China ship fees suspended until January 9

The one-year pause on Section 301 port fees and related duties ends November 9. USTR wants two more months. Comments are due October 30.

By Transport News Staff ·
A container ship at berth beneath ship-to-shore cranes at sunset.
Photo: Eric Kilby / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

The U.S. fees on Chinese-linked ships are not coming back on November 10, if USTR gets its way.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published a request for comments in the Federal Register on October 26. It proposes to suspend the Section 301 action on China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors for two more months, through January 9, 2027.

The timeline

| Date | Step | |---|---| | April 17, 2025 | USTR decides to take action in the Section 301 investigation | | November 10, 2025 | One-year suspension starts, after the November 1 U.S.-China deal | | November 9, 2026, 11:59 p.m. ET | Current suspension ends | | October 30, 2026, 5 p.m. ET | Comment deadline on the extension | | January 9, 2027, 11:59 p.m. ET | Proposed new end of the suspension |

What stays switched off

During the suspension, USTR says, no one would accrue liability for or have to pay:

  • the fees on maritime transport services in Annexes I, II and III of the April 2025 action, as modified in October 2025
  • the duties in Annex V.A of the October 16, 2025 notice

Why two months

USTR says the United States "is continuing to engage with China" with the goal of getting the practices at issue eliminated. The extra time is meant to allow further negotiation.

How to comment

Comments go through USTR's comments portal under docket USTR-2026-0694. No account is needed. Business confidential pages must be marked and a public version filed.

What it means for freight

The suspension has kept these fees and duties off the table since last November. The current suspension runs out at 11:59 p.m. on November 9. The proposal, if adopted, pushes the question of whether the fees return into January.

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