US eases some penalties tied to foreign-built ships, toughens others

11/10/2025 13:01

The United States Trade Representative's office said on Friday it would modify certain maritime-related fees for foreign-built vehicle carriers and liquefied natural gas vessels ahead of port fees on China-linked ships slated to go into effect next week.



USTR said in a statement that fees on operators of foreign-built vehicle carriers would be $46 per net ton, effective on October 14. That is below a fee of $150 per net ton originally proposed in April, seen by the industry as prohibitive, but well above an adjusted fee of $14 per net ton proposed on June 12.



USTR also is eliminating, retroactive to April 17, a provision permitting the suspension of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export licenses if certain restrictions on the use of foreign-built vessels were not met. And it added a carve-out from fees for certain ethane and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers under long-term charter arrangements.



USTR in February proposed the actions to counter China's rising maritime dominance and to restore American shipbuilding. But its original proposals were largely watered down amid pressure from industry, which called them overly punitive and said they would have stifled a U.S. shipbuilding revival.