New US port tariffs could do more harm than good: World Shipping Council asks for ‘constructive’ pathways

The World Shipping Council (WSC)—the voice of liner shipping—has expressed ‘serious’ concerns regarding the new port fee regime announced by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), cautioning that the measures could undermine American trade, hurt U.S. producers, and weaken efforts to strengthen the nation’s maritime industry.

Last week, USTR laid out plans to introduce fees on Chinese ships calling American ports. The move is part of a broader strategy to revive the local maritime and shipbuilding industry and curb China’s dominance in the sector.

“Revitalizing America’s maritime sector is an important and widely shared goal — one that requires a long-term, legislative and industrial strategy. We welcomed the vision outlined in the President’s Executive Order, which proposes targeted initiatives to strengthen U.S. shipbuilding, ports, and supply chain resilience,” Joe Kramek, President and CEO of the World Shipping Council, commented.

“Unfortunately, the fee regime announced by USTR is a step in the wrong direction as it will raise prices for consumers, weaken U.S. trade and do little to revitalize the U.S. maritime industry.”

Specifically, the World Shipping Council outlined several key concerns:

• Retroactive port fees: Applying fees to vessels that are already on the water offers no support for U.S. shipbuilding and, instead, risks harming American exporters — particularly farmers — at a time when global trade is facing significant strain. These backward-looking penalties disrupt long-term investment planning, introducing new costs and unpredictability for American businesses and consumers.
• Fees calculated on NT: Structuring fees based on ship size — net tonnage (NT) — disproportionately penalizes larger, more efficient vessels that deliver essential goods, including components used in U.S. production lines. Nearly half of all liner shipping imports to the U.S. are used directly in domestic production processes. Increasing the cost of these shipments will reverberate through the supply chain, raising production costs for American businesses and, ultimately, for consumers. It will also penalize U.S. ports, who have made significant investments to expand their capacity to attract and handle the largest container ships serving the trade.
• Fees on car carriers: Additionally, the USTR actions last week included a new and previously unannounced fee based on car equivalent unit (CEU) capacity for almost every vehicle carrier in the world. This arbitrary action, targeting all foreign-built vessels, will further slow U.S. economic growth and raise automobile prices for American consumers, while doing little to encourage U.S maritime investment.
• Legal and strategic concerns: WSC also flagged significant legal concerns, noting that the proposed fees appear to extend beyond the authority granted under U.S. trade law.

The WSC has once again urged the Administration to reconsider ‘this counterproductive’ measure, which risks harming U.S. consumers, manufacturers, and farmers without delivering meaningful progress toward revitalizing the U.S. maritime industry.

The council added that constructive pathways — such as targeted investment incentives, infrastructure improvements, and streamlined regulatory processes — can deliver lasting benefits without disrupting U.S. trade or raising costs for American producers and consumers. It is also important to recognize that the U.S. shipbuilding sector already faces significant constraints, including a backlog of military orders and ongoing labor shortages. Similarly, a shortage of trained and certified U.S. mariners limits the potential to expand U.S.-flag shipping, even if the regulatory environment was improved.

Liner shipping moves 65% of U.S. seaborne trade, contributes more than $2 trillion annually to the U.S. economy, and supports 6.4 million American jobs paying more than $420 billion in wages. WSC members also represent 75% of the vessels enrolled in the U.S. Maritime Security Program.

“We urge policymakers to pursue strategies that encourage growth, strengthen supply chain resilience, and avoid actions that risk harming American exporters, producers, and consumers at a time when global trade is already under pressure,” Kramek concluded.

Initially, the Office of the United States Trade Representative proposed a measure to charge a fee of up to $1.5 million for Chinese-built vessels entering US ports. The proposal was part of an investigation in which USTR found China’s targeting for dominance ‘unreasonable’ because it lessens competition and creates dependencies on the country while restricting US commerce.

Last month, WSC already urged the USTR to abandon its proposal for $1.5 million retroactive fees on port calls for Chinese-built vessels. The association warned that the proposed tariffs could exacerbate inflation for US consumers as well as businesses, jeopardize jobs and ‘disproportionately’ harm United States-based farmers and other exporters.

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