The following was a News & Insights report from the RV Industry Association (RVIA).
On Thursday, April 17, the United States Trade Representative’s Office announced its plan to impose fees on Chinese ship owners and operators, as well as Chinese-built ships.
All fees will go into effect on Tuesday, Oct. 14. In every case, the fee is assessed based on the ship operators. Additionally, fees on Chinese ship operators and owners and Chinese-built ships are assessed per voyage, not per port call.
Note that fees will not stack— a ship will only fall under one of the following categories:
- Chinese Ship Operators and Chinese Ship Owners
- Assessed a $50 fee per net ton per U.S. voyage
- Amount will increase annually in April for three years – April 2026, April 2027, April 2028 – by $30 per net ton
- Assessed to the vessel owner/operator
- Fee will only be charged up to five times annually, per vessel
- Chinese Built Ships
- Assessed a fee of $18 per net ton or $120 per container
- Amount will increase annually in April for three years – April 2026, April 2027, April 2028 – by $5 per net ton or the same proportional annual amount per container
- Assessed to the vessel operator
- US Customs and Border Protection will suspend the fee for up to three years on a particular ship if the ship owner orders and takes delivery of a U.S. built ship of equal or greater net tonnage
- Ship Operators of Foreign-Built Vehicle Carriers
- Fee starting at $150 per Car Equivalent Unit capacity on non-U.S. built vessel
- Covers vessels classified as a “vehicle carrier” on US Customs and Border Protection Form 1300
- A vessel that is designed for wheeled or tracked cargo that can load itself on board
- US Customs and Border Protection will suspend the fee for up to 3 years on a particular ship if the ship owner orders and takes delivery of a U.S. built ship of equal or greater Car Equivalent Unit
A U.S.-built vessel must meet the following requirements:
- The vessel is built in the United States;
- The vessel is documented under the laws of the United States;
- All major components of the hull or superstructure of the vessel are manufactured (including all manufacturing processes from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings for iron or steel products) in the United States; and
- The components of the vessel are manufactured in the United States (defined on pages 32-33 of the rule).
Fees on Chinese-built ships effectively do not cover Great Lakes or Caribbean shipping, shipping to and from U.S. territories, or bulk commodity exports on ships that arrive to the United States empty.
An initial proposal in February could have imposed fees up to $1.5M on Chinese-built ships entering US ports and an additional $1M on Chinese-operated vessels. The announced rates are the result of feedback from the maritime industry, as well as industries that depend on maritime shipping.
Please contact Samantha Rocci, Director of Federal Affairs (srocci@rvia.org), with questions.
