A two-month extension, published for comment
The Office of the United States Trade Representative on Oct. 26 published a Federal Register proposal to extend for two more months the suspension of Section 301 measures targeting China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors, keeping fees and certain tariffs on hold through Jan. 9, 2027 (Source: SAFETY4SEA; S&P Global). The proposal, which USTR said is intended to allow further negotiations between Washington and Beijing, would run from midnight Nov. 10, 2026 to 11:59 p.m. Jan. 9, 2027, US Eastern Time, covering maritime service fees under annexes I, II and III of the action as well as additional tariffs on certain cargo-handling equipment (Source: Xinde Maritime News; PortNews).
The current one-year suspension, agreed in November 2025 as part of a broader US-China trade truce, was scheduled to expire on Nov. 9, 2026 (Source: The Loadstar). USTR said in the notice that the United States is continuing to engage with China "with the goal of obtaining the elimination of the acts, policies, and practices at issue in the investigation" (Source: USTR via The Loadstar). The move came roughly two weeks before the Nov. 9 deadline - and after market sources had already signaled the likely delay. S&P Global's Platts unit reported on Oct. 20 that the extension was expected, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sept. 23 that the truce would run to Jan. 10, 2027, though only a new Federal Register notice could legally extend the fee pause (Source: S&P Global; ChemAnalyst).
What is still suspended
The measures in question date to 2025, when USTR imposed tariffs of 100% on PRC ship-to-ship cranes and chassis, tariffs of up to 150% on certain PRC port-handling equipment, and entry fees on PRC carriers and carriers using PRC-built vessels, later simplified and capped at five fee levels after public comment (Source: USTR fact sheet). In November 2025, both sides suspended their respective port fees for one year: China's Ministry of Transport also paused its special port fees on ships owned or operated by US enterprises, organizations and individuals, effective Nov. 10, 2025, while simultaneously suspending its probe into the impact of the US Section 301 actions (Source: China SCIO/Xinhua).
The latest extension is framed as time for negotiations rather than a settlement. The Loadstar reports the USTR asked that the measures remain suspended while talks continue, and S&P Global notes the extension aligns with a separate two-month extension of a Busan-related arrangement to Jan. 10, following a recent visit from China (Source: The Loadstar; S&P Global). Under the proposal, no additional charges would be payable for affected vessels from Nov. 10, 2026 to Jan. 9, 2027, and certain punitive tariffs under the Section 301 measures would also remain suspended (Source: Hansa.news).
Mixed signals from the freight industry
Reaction from industry stakeholders is mixed. The US coal export industry warned in a July 2026 filing that the maritime actions would raise transportation costs, reduce vessel availability and undermine the competitiveness of US coal exports (Source: S&P Global). Others in the liner and import-export community read the extension as welcome breathing room, since the fees would have added meaningful per-voyage costs for carriers operating Chinese-built tonnage on US routes, and the pattern of short extensions keeps costs predictable for another quarter (Source: Importivity).
For cross-border sellers and importers, the practical takeaway is another quarter of port costs at the status quo. But the repeated short extensions also underline that the underlying Section 301 case remains unresolved: carriers and forwarders are still planning against a fee schedule that can be switched back on with a single Federal Register notice, and the political calendar - with the one-year truce already extended once - offers little certainty beyond January (Source: SAFETY4SEA; PortNews).
The action's original design shows why the stakes matter. In April 2025, USTR's fact sheet described first-phase fees on vessel owners and operators based on net tonnage per US voyage, increasing incrementally - starting at US$50 per net ton after 180 days and rising US$30 per net ton per year over the following three years - with separate fees on operators of Chinese-built ships based on net tonnage or containers (Source: USTR fact sheet). Had the suspension lapsed, those escalating schedules would have started applying again in November, which is why liner operators, importers and exporters lobbied for the extension (Source: The Loadstar).
What happens next
The proposal is open for public comment, and the final decision rests with USTR. If adopted, the suspension would run to Jan. 9, 2027, after which the same question returns: extend again, or begin collecting. For companies that quote freight on China-linked tonnage, the near-term planning assumption should be that fees stay dormant through the end of this year, while long-term contracts should build in contingency language for the measures resuming in the new year (Source: The Loadstar).
