Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2025-08-08 Origin: Site
The United States imposes port fees on Chinese ships
U.S. Customs will impose port fees on relevant Chinese ships. The specific implementation and expropriation of this policy is the responsibility of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). According to the Lowe's Daily on August 5, ships that fail to pay fees as required will be prohibited from loading and unloading goods or withholding departure permits until the payment is confirmed.
To promote the collection of fees, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Finance Office is working with the Treasury Department to build a new independent payment form on Pay.gov, the official U.S. government payment website. The form will support automatic clearing house to deduct money directly from the bank account without cash or in-kind payment. The form will also include data fields such as ship identification, arrival port, estimated arrival date, payer information and remittance items.
According to the current framework formulated by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the charges are divided into two categories:
First, for ships owned or operated by Chinese companies, a net tonne will be charged for every US port that will be charged from October this year, and will gradually rise to $140 by 2028. The scope of application covers ships operated or owned by Chinese entities (including registered entities in Hong Kong and Macau). The fees are calculated based on 'voyages' and each ship is charged up to 5 times per year. The initial exemption period is from April 17 to October 14, 2025, and the rate is 0.
Second, for operators who are not Chinese operators but use Chinese-built ships, the fees are relatively low, at US$18 per net ton or US$120 per container (the higher both) and will be raised to US$33 and US$250 respectively in the future.
Vessels owned by Chinese shipowners or operators: From October 2025, a charge of US$50 per net tonne will rise to US$140 per net tonne in April 2028.
Operators who are not Chinese but use Chinese to build ships: initial costs are low ($18/net ton or $120/container), but will rise to $33/net ton or $250/container respectively by 2028.
Taking a 10,000 TEU container ship (usually net tonnage of 70,000), as an example, its cost will increase from $3.5 million to $9.8 million in three years, equivalent to 15% of the value of the entire ship's cargo. This policy directly pushes up the operating costs of Chinese ship owners, forcing global shipping companies to re-evaluate their cooperation with Chinese shipyards.
It is worth noting that the Baltic International Shipping Association (BIMCO) recently issued standard terms for regular chartering, requiring ship owners to disclose ship information and by default transferring the financial responsibility for the fee levied by the United States to the charterer (i.e., foreign trade export enterprises).
The background of this charging policy can be traced back to April 17, 2025. USTR announced the results of 301 investigations on China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industries on the same day, and clearly stated that port service fees will be imposed on ships built or owned by China.
The policy also defines the scope of exemptions, including U.S. Maritime Safety Program (MSP) ships, empty or ballast ships, small ships, short-distance maritime ships, ships owned by U.S. companies, ships ready to load bulk export goods such as coal or grain, etc.; if the owner can provide evidence of orders for the construction of the ship in the United States, he or she can also obtain a fee waiver of up to 3 years.
In addition to port fees, USTR also proposes to impose up to 100% tariffs on Chinese port equipment (such as shore cranes, container transport chassis, etc.) and encourages U.S. energy exports (such as liquefied natural gas) to be transported by ships built and registered in the United States.
Note: China's global port + railway layout
China breaks the deadlock: Multi-pronged approach
1. The Silk Road on Ice Opens up a new waterway.
Relying on the window period when the Arctic ice cap melts, China accelerates the commercial operation of the Northeast Arctic Passage. The traditional route from Shanghai to Hamburg, Germany, needs to pass through the Strait of Malacca and the Suez Canal, with a voyage of 11,479 nautical miles; while the Arctic route only takes 7,198 nautical miles, a shortening of nearly one-third. In July 2025, Lianyungang Port opened its first Arctic route, which shortened the range by 9,000 nautical miles compared to the traditional Cape of Good Hope route, and doubled the transportation time. The independently developed polar heavy-duty ship (such as 'Snow Dragon 2') has PC3 ice-breaking capabilities and can continuously navigate on a 1.5-meter-thick ice surface, providing technical support for route expansion.
2. The China-Europe Express train builds a land golden corridor.
The China-Europe Express train passes the 'rail express' mode to reduce the customs clearance time to within 30 minutes, and the full transportation time is reduced by more than 30% compared with traditional sea transportation. In 2024, a total of 19,000 trains were launched, and 2.07 million TEUs were shipped, an increase of 10% and 9% year-on-year, covering 227 cities in 25 European countries. Land ports such as Horgos and Alashankou have achieved bidirectional heavy loading of quasi-wide rails through the 'unloading and loading' mode. In 2023, the 'China-Europe Express + China-Laos Railway' transit transportation will be completed through the Manzhouli Port in 2023, saving logistics time by 15-20 days compared with the traditional model.
1. The Belt and Road Node Port Group Layout
China has established operating rights at key nodes such as the Port of Piraeus in Greece (holding 67% of the shares) and the Suez Canal Terminal in Egypt (holding 35% of the shares), forming a port network of 'two oceans and three seas' (Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, Red Sea, and Baltic Sea) through equity acquisitions and strategic cooperation. These ports not only undertake the function of cargo transit, but also improve service energy levels through digital transformation. For example, the container throughput of Piraeus Port jumped from 880,000 TEUs in 2010 to 8 million TEUs in 2024, ranking among the largest ports in the Mediterranean.
2. Smart ports lead the global standard
Chinese ports to lead the field of automation and greening: Qingdao Port's fully automated terminal operating efficiency reaches 43.8 natural boxes/hour, an increase of 50% compared with traditional terminals; Ningbo Zhoushan Port and the three major European hub ports (Hamburg, Wilhelmshaven, and Valencia) jointly build a green shipping corridor, and plan to achieve net zero emissions from sea transportation by 2028. As of 2024, China has built 21 automated container terminals and 28 automated dry bulk terminals, ranking first in the world.
In addition, China's ship capacity has reached the top of the world and is the largest ship owner country!
Among the top ten container ports in the world in 2024, China occupies 6 seats (Shanghai, Ningbo Zhoushan, Shenzhen, Qingdao, Guangzhou, and Tianjin), among which Shanghai Port ranked first in the world with 49.16 million TEUs, and Ningbo Zhoushan Port ranked third with 35.05 million TEUs. It is worth noting that Hong Kong Port fell out of the top ten for the first time since 1992, while Malaysia's Port Klang has been newly shortlisted with its regional hub advantage, reflecting the adjustment of Southeast Asian shipping pattern.
The total tonnage of the fleet controlled by Chinese ship owners exceeded 280 million deadweight tons, accounting for 18.7% of the global market share, surpassing Greece for the first time to become the world's largest ship owner country. This achievement is due to the improvement of domestic ship manufacturing capabilities - in 2024, Hudong China undertakes orders for 18 271,000 cubic meters of LNG ships from Qatar Energy Group, with a total amount of over 40 billion yuan, setting a global record for single shipbuilding orders.
Faced with external pressures such as the United States imposing port fees on Chinese ships (up to $140/net ton), China has built a diversified transportation network through the trinity of 'channel + port + ships'. Arctic routes reduce reliance on the Strait of Malacca (60% of China's crude oil is transported here), China-Europe freight trains open up land alternatives, and global port networks enhance supply chain resilience. This 'not putting eggs in the same basket' strategy not only ensures the safety of trade and transportation, but also gradually transforms from a rule recipient to a maker by participating in the formulation of green shipping standards (such as the zero-carbon agreement between Ningbo Zhoushan Port and Hamburg Port).
Source: Import Customs Declaration Network | If there is any infringement, please contact us to delete it
