The Trump administration is continuing to take steps to implement a trade agreement recently reached with China. Following the issuance of two executive orders easing tariffs on imports from China, the administration has suspended the assessment of fees on Chinese ships, the imposition of higher tariffs on imports of certain port equipment from China, and the enforcement of a rule expanding restrictions on exports to China.
Ship fees. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has issued a notice suspending through 11:59 p.m. EST on Nov. 9, 2026 (1) the fees imposed on Chinese-owned or -operated vessels and Chinese-built vessels, which had been in effect since Oct. 14, and (2) the imposition of 100 percent tariffs on imports of certain ship-to-shore cranes and cargo handling equipment from China, which had been set to take effect Nov. 9.
USTR will continue to accept through Nov. 12 comments on a proposal to make additional changes to the original notice announcing the fees and tariffs, including (1) adding a carve-out from fees for certain ethane and liquid petroleum gas carriers under long-term charter, (2) extending the fees to vessels up to 10,000 DWT through at least April 18, 2029, and (3) imposing additional tariffs of up to 150 percent on certain cargo handling equipment (e.g., rubber tire gantry cranes) and components thereof.
USTR noted that over the next year the U.S. will negotiate with China to address the acts, policies, and practices at issue in the underlying Section 301 investigation and will “continue to partner with key allies to increase U.S. shipbuilding capacity.”
50 percent rule. The Bureau of Industry and Security has stayed until Nov. 9, 2026, its interim final rule that expanded export restrictions to many subsidiaries of entities on two federal lists. Under that rule, which took effect Sept. 29, any entity that is at least 50 percent owned by one or more entities on the BIS Entity List of the BIS Military End-User List would itself automatically be subject to restrictions on exports to entities on those lists. BIS indicated that unless this stay is extended the restrictions in the interim final rule will be reimposed effective Nov. 10, 2026.
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