Oslo, Norway – Friday, 18 April 2025
The softening of proposed port fees on China-built and operated ships importing goods into the US has reduced the risk of severe congestion and upward pressure on freight rates.
The announcement by the Trump Administration yesterday, 17 April, saw changes to the original proposal. Significantly, the fees will now be levied on a net tonnage basis per US voyage, rather than cumulative fees for every port the ship calls at.
The new proposals will not come into effect for 180 days and the full notice can be read here.
Emily Stausbøll, Xeneta Senior Shipping Analyst, said: "We must look carefully at the potential impact of the revised port fees, but changes will be welcomed by the ocean container shipping industry given the significant criticism levelled at the initial proposal during the public hearing.
“The fact fees will not be imposed on every port call is particularly important because it lowers the risk of congestion had carriers decided to cut the number of calls on each service into the US. This port congestion had the potential to cause severe disruption and upward pressure on freight rates.
"Despite the softer approach in the revised proposal, costs could still be very high for Chinese carriers and carriers operating Chinese-built vessels - particularly for ships with the largest capacity.
"The 180 days before fees become effective is an opportunity for these carriers to revise how fleet is used across alliance partners. If they can avoid using the largest China-built ships on US services, they could minimize the impact greatly.
"The latest announcement should still be viewed in the context of the original proposal, which offered dire consequences. The situation has changed for the better, but it isn't a great victory for the ocean container shipping industry because these fees still add further pressure at a time when businesses are already trying to navigate the spiralling tariffs announced by the Trump Administration."
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Xeneta’s Media Contacts:
Philip Hennessey
Director of External Communications
Xeneta
+44 7830 021808
press@xeneta.com
