Following trade negotiations between the US and China the two countries agreed on October 30th to a year-long truce that would see various tariffs suspended from November 10th.
This included the USTR Service Fees imposed under “Section 301” powers and had been applied, in various ways, to ships owned by Chinese companies, or operated by Chinese companies, or built in China (with various exceptions). China had in turn from October 14th (and with only four days’ notice) imposed Special Port Charges on ships linked to the US.
Those various schemes are described more fully at our dedicated webpage found here.
Following the various announcements, on November 10th the USTR issued a formal Notice suspending the service fees, running for a year until November 10th 2026.
While the announcements came as an immediate relief to all stakeholders in the manufacture and movement of goods between the two countries, several issues remained under investigation by the USTR. These included tariffs on ship-to-shore cranes and the suspension of LNG export licences.
NorthStandard observed that “this suggests that such matters may be addressed in further negotiations between the US and China on wider trade issues”.
Also unclear, at the moment, is whether the suspension will also delay by a year the previously announced, but yet-to-be enforced, tiered increases in charges. These previously had been anticipated to take effect in April 2026 and added to in October 2026.
The question therefore is whether everything has been “put back a year” or whether, if the truce breaks down 12 months from now, those tiered increases will come into immediate effect.
The announcement by China of a suspension of “Ministry of Transport Announcement no. 54 of 2025; Notice of Implementation Measures JTBS [2025] No. 59; and Ministry of Transport Announcement No. 55 of 2025”, for a year from November 10th, suspending the Special Port Charges for American ships using US ports announced in early October, meant that no further Special Port Charges would be collected in China. However, NorthStandard said it understood that certain local MSAs were still requiring arriving vessels to complete and submit the reporting form. The Club recommended that members check with their appointed local agents and local lawyers as necessary if they have any concerns in this regard.
As yet, neither country has issued any guidance on refunds or clawback of fees hat have already been paid.
The Club said that in most cases it would be prudent for parties to:
- include bespoke terms allocating responsibility and risk for the US and China port charges in their charter parties,
- to budget for potential liabilities should the fees be reinstated, and
- to keep updated on any future developments.
BIMCO has published a USTR Clause for Time Charter Parties 2025. It is now expediting development of a standard industry clause to deal with the Chinese Special Port Charges.