As industry stakeholders and government officials prepare for the implementation of the Office of the United States Trade Representative's (USTR) Section 301 actions targeting Chinese and other foreign vessels, set to take effect on October 14, 2025 in accordance with USTR's Notice of Action and Proposed Action in Section 301 Investigation of China's Targeting the Maritime, Logistics and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance, Request for Comments (the April Notice), there have been recent developments by the US and Chinese governments that add both clarity and concern regarding such implementation, including:

Detailed discussion regarding the April Notice, including the fees announced thereunder (the Service Fees), how the Service Fees and other restrictions will be applied to vessels subject to the Annexes and any relevant exemptions thereto, can be found here.

The October Modification proposes modifications to the Annexes which remain subject to public comment, adopts modifications previously proposed in the June Proposal and provides clarifications to the existing language in the Annexes.

Comments on the proposed modifications in the October Modification may be submitted in writing until November 10, 2025.

The October Modification also clarified that "vehicle carrier," as identified on CBP Form 1300 generally means the "vessel is designed for wheeled or tracked cargo that can load itself on board rather than being lifted through hatches," and may include ICST codes: 325 (Vehicle Carrier); 332 (Ro-Ro Passenger); 333 (Other Ro-Ro Cargo); or 338 (Ro-Ro Container).

Additionally, the October Modification added a retroactive exemption to the Annex III Service Fee for US-owned or US-flagged vessels enrolled in the Maritime Security Program and US Government vessels.

Finally, as with Annex I, the October Modification provides that vessels principally identified under the following ICST codes that may be subject to the fee modifications set forth in the October Modification may defer payment of the Annex III Service Fees from October 14, 2025, through December 10, 2025:

In the Bulletin, CBP addresses key logistics concerning the implementation of the April Notice, in particular, the payment of the Service Fees. As published, the April Notice did not include a specific payment mechanism for the Service Fees, noting that payment of the Service Fees "may be made using existing U.S. government methods to the extent possible as determined by CBP."

The Bulletin:

The PRC Announcement was issued October 10, 2025, in direct response to the USTR's April Notice and introduced special port fees (the PRC Port Fees), effective October 14, 2025. The PRC Announcement itself directly cites the April Notice as the motivation for the PRC Port Fees. The PRC Port Fees will apply to any vessels:

The PRC Port Fees will be charged on a voyage-by-voyage basis at the following rates:

With regard to the above rates, the PRC Announcement notes that vessels with cargo less than 1 net ton will be rounded up to 1 net ton. The PRC Port Fees will be collected by the maritime authority at the port of call. The PRC Announcement also provides that the PRC Port Fees will not be charged for more than five voyages of the same vessel in a year. Finally, the PRC Announcement notes that specific implementation procedures will be formulated by the Ministry of Transport.

Critical developments in USTR actions on Chinese and foreign vessels