Generic Hero BannerGeneric Hero Banner
Latest Market News

Confusion endures as US port fees approach

  • Spanish Market: Freight
  • 09/10/25

The shipping community is still missing key details on the application and implementation of port fees for Chinese ships visiting the US starting 14 October,shipping industry associations tell Argus.

Lack of details on the fees being managed by the US Trade Representative's office, including how a vessel's ownership is determined and how the fees are calculated, continues to create confusion within the shipping world just days before the fees are set to start, according to market participants surveyed.

One of the biggest issues that remains is paying the fees themselves as pay.gov —the website through which the fees will be collected — does not accept foreign bank transfers, according to the Association of Ship Brokers and Agents (ASBA). "This is a big concern for our agents that may be asked to process these fees," explained Kate Torpey, executive director of ASBA.

The Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA), which represents US-based companies that own, operate or charter ocean-going vessels in domestic and international trade, including BP, Chevron and Shell, suggested in public comments to USTR that Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) publish documents relating to the enforcement of the fees "... including identification of an appeals process for any CBP final decision and identification of vessel documents and filings that will be used by CBP to determine applicability of the USTR final decisions."

"USTR or CBP needs to clarify a number of the issues we raised in our comments," said Kathy Metcalf, president of the CSA, on 9 October.

The World Shipping Council (WSC), whose members account for 90pc of the global liner shipping capacity, told Argus is it also waiting for neceesary clarification from USTR to ensure compliance with the regulation.

Shipping association BIMCO adopted a standard clause to help manage legal and financial risks between charter parties ahead of the start of the fees. Under the clause, charterers are responsible for paying the fees when they direct a vessel to the US, but the shipowners must disclose whether the vessel is linked to a Chinese entity. Failure to do so will shift the responsibility for the fees to the shipowners, should the fees be applied, according to the BIMCO rules.

The USTR declined requests for comments on further clarifications by Argus .


Generic Hero Banner

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more