On April 17, 2025, the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced its decision to impose port fees on Chinese shipping lines and Chinese-built vessels. The USTR 301 action means that, from October 14, 2025, Chinese-built ships calling at US ports will be charged $18 per net vessel tonnage, or $120 per container discharged, whichever is higher. By April 2028, the charge will have risen incrementally to either $33 per net tonnage of the vessel, or $250 per container discharged. Additionally, from October 2025, Chinese lines must pay an additional $50 per net tonnage, regardless of where the vessels were built, which will gradually increase to $140 by April 2028.
In response to these new fees, Cosco Shipping Corporation criticized the USTR’s “discrimination” against Chinese ship operators, stating: “We firmly oppose the accusations and the subsequent measures. Such measures not only distort fair competition and impede the normal functioning of the global shipping industry, but also threaten its stable and sustainable development. Ultimately, these actions risk undermining the security, resilience, and orderly operation of global industrial and supply chains,” it added.
The new fees could prompt Cosco to replace its box ships on transpacific routes by taking slots on vessels operated by fellow Ocean Alliance partners CMA CGM and Evergreen. According to Linerlytica, all mainline operators have enough ships to replace all their China-built vessels on transpacific routes without disrupting their operations. However, the USTR exemptions are open to debate, as the hefty 145% tariffs imposed by US president Donald Trump on imports from China had already drastically reduced cargo volumes and transpacific sailings.
It is reported that only 20% of the containerships currently calling at US ports are affected, and these are expected to be swapped with exempt ships over the next six months. Box ships smaller than 4,000 TEU and those on voyages of less than 2,000 nautical miles are exempt from the charges. This is likely to benefit shortsea operators in the Caribbean/South American routes and operators of US-flagged ships on the MSP/VISA program, giving an advantage to operators such as CMA CGM.
On April 2,2 2025, the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index showed Shanghai-US west coast freight rates had lost about 5% from the previous week, to average $2,103 per 40ft, although Shanghai-US east coast rates stayed almost unchanged, at $3,251 per 40ft.
