The US and China agreed on Thursday to pause tit-for-tat fees on each other’s ships that became a major irritant in the broader trade war between the world’s two largest economies and pushed up ocean freight costs.
The move provides a 12-month reprieve on an estimated $3.2 billion annually in fees for large Chinese-built vessels sailing to US ports and was among the trade deals reached in South Korea by US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Early this year, the Trump administration announced plans to levy fees on China-linked ships to loosen the country’s grip on the global maritime industry and bolster US shipbuilding. The so-called Section 301 penalties followed a US probe that concluded China’s domination of the global maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors was driven by unfair practices.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Fox Business Network on Thursday that the Section 301 action had been put on hold.
The US Trade Representative’s office did not immediately comment whether the pause covered other US penalties, including those on non-US auto carriers built outside of China. The Section 301 penalties also included 100 per cent tariffs on port cranes made in China.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that the suspension applied to Section 301 penalties, "concerning China’s maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors." It added that China also will suspend its on countermeasures and fees on US-linked ships.
The fees reportedly have cost ship operators including China-owned COSCO and US-based Matson millions of dollars and disrupted vessel schedules, driving up shipping expenses that eventually will land on consumers, maritime experts warned.
Singapore-based ocean transportation provider High-Trend International Group said in a statement that the suspension offered immediate, material benefits to the company.
"The suspension removes a long-standing cost and policy overhang that had affected HTCO’s maritime logistics and carbon-neutral initiatives," High-Trend said. "This development is expected to significantly reduce cross-border shipping costs, improve cash-flow stability, and strengthen investor confidence in HTCO’s growth strategy."
While maritime executives welcomed suspension of penalties, they expressed frustration over continued uncertainty.
"I sincerely hope this agreement has some permanency, something sorely lacking thus far, that will allow the shipping industry to get on with its core purpose – facilitating global commerce," Simon Heaney, senior manager of container research at maritime research consultancy Drewry, said on social media.
Bessent said just the threat of the Section 301 tariffs was enough to reduce demand for China-built ships.
"Chinese shipbuilders have seen substantial diminution or decreases in their order books," Bessent said.
Orders for Chinese ships have fallen from last year as part of an overall decline this year. However, data shows that China continues to dominate ship orders.
Chinese shipyards captured 53 per cent of all global ship orders by tonnage during the first eight months of 2025, according to a the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) analysis of SP Global data.
(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
