The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) issued an updated notice of action and proposed action that revises the previously announced fees on Chinese-built ships to promote the transport of goods on U.S. vessels. These vessel fees are aimed at eliminating China’s acts, policies, and practices targeting the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance. USTR found China’s practices to be unreasonable and to burden or restrict US commerce.

The revised fees come after the USTR held a two-day public hearing on March 24 and 26 and received nearly 600 public comments. Initially, the USTR called for immediate fees on Chinese-made vessels of roughly $1M per US port of call. The revised fees will be implemented over three years. The fee schedule is as follows:

USTR will assess these fees a maximum of five times per year / per vessel. If a vessel operator pays the Chinese vessel operator / owner fee for a vessel, they will not pay the Chinese-built vessel fee.

For Chinese-built vessels, these fees will be assessed on the basis of net tonnage or per container, whichever yields the higher amount. USTR did not provide a definition of net tonnage. Vessel documentation often includes net tonnage information, but this reflects internal volume. It may not be an accurate reflection of carrying capacity because container ships store containers on deck.

USTR will waive the fees for Chinese-built vessels, if a vessel operator provides a ship-building order from a US shipyard. The fee waiver would be equal to the tonnage of the US-built vessel. USTR will collect fees in arrears, if the vessel operator cancels the order.

USTR also issued fees for vessel operators of foreign vehicle carriers. This fee is based on vessels’ Car Equivalent Unit (CEU) capacity. The fee will be $0 for 180 days, but increase on October 14, 2025, to $150 per CEU capacity. Vessel operators are eligible for a waiver for three years, if they order and take delivery of a U.S.-built vessel of at least equivalent size.

USTR initiated an investigation into China’s maritime practices following a request by five national labor unions in April 2024. The labor unions filed a Section 301 petition with USTR requesting an investigation into the acts, policies, and practices of China targeting the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance.

USTR will hold another public hearing on May 19, 2025. This hearing is to address newly proposed tariffs on ship-to-shore cranes and other cargo handling equipment. The deadline to submit a request to appear at the hearing is May 8, 2025. For details on comment submission see https://comments.ustr.gov/s/. To view all USTR notices on this topic visit USTR’s website.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Chairman Louis Sola issued a statement calling for the closure of all shipping registries to shadow fleet vessels.

Chairman Sola noted that “pariah regimes use shadow fleets to evade sanctions, generate revenue, and by extension, maintain power.” According to Chairman Sola, responsible, well run, and reputable ship registries do not want any vessel involved in skirting international norms on their rolls.

He commended the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) for its action de-listing more than 100 vessels sanctioned by the United States and other governments. According to Chairman Sola, approximately 60 percent of the Iran-linked shadow fleet had registered under the Panamanian flag. Due to recent efforts, AMP has reduced that total to approximately 17 percent. Chairman Sola stressed that the vessels purged by the AMP must not find refuge under another flag. He also voiced his frustration at the lack of urgency demonstrated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in regard to shadow fleets.

According to Chairman Sola, the FMC possesses authority that can be brought to bear against nations whose laws, regulations, or practices create unfavorable shipping conditions. Chairman Sola tasked FMC staff with identifying options on how to address the role flags of convenience play in enabling sanction avoidance. He believes registries hosting outlaw vessels used by reprehensible regimes to facilitate their evasion of international regulations would qualify as conduct warranting the Commission’s attention and action.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) recently classified the Chinese-Polish Joint Stock Shipping Company (Chipolbrok) as a controlled carrier of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The FMC added Chipolbrok to the Commission’s official Controlled Carrier List.

Controlled carriers are ocean common carriers operating in the U.S.-foreign trades that are, or whose operating assets are, directly or indirectly owned or controlled by a foreign government. Controlled carriers are subject to enhanced regulatory oversight by the Commission.

The governments of PRC and the Republic of Poland jointly own Chipolbrok. Chipolbrok’s headquarters is located in Shanghai. Following a comprehensive review of the company’s ownership structure, the FMC determined that the government of the PRC exerts more control over the corporate structure and commercial activities of Chipolbrok than the Polish partner. The FMC summarized the determining factors leading to the decision in a Notice of Determination.

The FMC’s Controlled Carrier List is not a comprehensive list of all foreign-owned, foreign-controlled, or government linked companies and assets. It is a list of companies meeting statutory requirements found at 46 U.S.C. Chapter 407. The list only includes government owned or controlled carriers that call at United States ports. The list does not include government controlled or linked non-vessel-operating common carriers, freight forwarders, or marine terminal operators. The Commission’s regulations related to Controlled Carriers are found at 46 CFR 565.

Several leading carriers serving the Transpacific container trades have recently updated their respective tariffs to include new General Rate Increases (GRIs) effective May 15, 2025, including CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, Hapag Lloyd, HMM Company Limited, Ocean Network Express (ONE), Yang Ming, and ZIM. See table below for GRI amounts per 40ft container; GRI amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula. The May 15th GRIs will be the tenth GRI of 2025 for the East Asia/USA trade lane. 

NOTE 1:  COSCO GRIs apply on all cargo moving under service contracts only.   

NOTE 2:  Evergreen GRIs will be USD 3000 per 40ft container for dry cargo, and USD 3000 per reefer container.  GRI amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula. 

Some carriers also updated their tariffs to include new General Rate Increases (GRIs) effective June 1, 2025, including CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, Hapag Lloyd, HMM Company Limited, Ocean Network Express (ONE), Yang Ming, and ZIM. See table below for GRI amounts per 40ft container; GRI amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula. The June 1st GRIs will be the eleventh GRI of 2025 for the East Asia/USA trade lane. 

NOTE 1:  COSCO GRIs apply on all cargo moving under service contracts only.   

NOTE 2:  Evergreen GRIs will be USD 3000 per 40ft container for dry cargo, and USD 3000 per reefer container.  GRI amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula. 

Each carrier maintains its own tariffs and controls its own pricing.

The information contained herein is obtained from reliable sources. It is subject to change at any time, however, depending on changes in laws and regulations. While we continually attempt to monitor this information, we do not guarantee its accuracy and are not responsible for any damages suffered by any party in reliance on it.