The United States and China reciprocally extend the suspensions of service fees on Chinese-linked vessels and Special port fees on US-linked vessels
On 6 November 2026, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) suspended the implementation of the service fees on Chinese-linked vessels for another two months, up to 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on 9 January 2027. The USTR Notice of Modification is available here.
No party will accrue liability for or be required to pay the fees on maritime transport services under Annexes I, II, or III of the initial USTR Notice of Action. Annex IV providing certain restrictions on LNG transport services has not been permanently suspended, the restrictions are still planned to take effect starting April 2028.
China has also confirmed, on 9 November 2026, that the suspension of the reciprocal Special Port Fees on US-linked vessels has been further extended up to 10 January 2027. The announcement of the Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China is available here.
The reciprocal two-month suspension allows for continued economic and trade negotiations between the US and China. However, this is a short-term relief only. Members should not assume that further reciprocal extensions may be forthcoming.