# US and China prolong Section 301 port fee truce through January *The two-month reprieve suspends reciprocal harbor fees of up to $1 million per vessel call alongside planned import duties on Chinese ship-to-shore cargo cranes.* **Published:** November 13, 2026 **By:** Mina Okoro **Section:** Shipbuilding & Defense — Cross-border **Format:** Policy Tracker **Confidence:** high **Source:** https://eastasiabrief.com/shipbuilding/us-china-prolong-section-301-port-fee-truce-through-1380 **Publisher:** East Asia Brief (https://eastasiabrief.com/) --- ## What to know - USTR and MOFCOM extend Section 301 maritime truce by two months to January 2027 - Freezes harbor fees up to $1M per call on Chinese vessels and sanctions on Hanwha Ocean units - U.S. suspension expires Jan. 9, 2027, and China measures expire Jan. 10, 2027 ![Port workers walk along a terminal as a large crane hoists a shipping container near docked cargo vessels. (AI-generated image)](https://eastasiabrief.com/media/2026-11-12-10d0c1a44bef.webp) *Port workers walk along a terminal as a large crane hoists a shipping container near docked cargo vessels. (AI-generated image)* The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and China's Ministry of Commerce confirmed on Nov. 11, 2026, that both governments have extended their Section 301 maritime truce by two months to January. The reprieve delays the entry of reciprocal port charges on commercial cargo vessels and maintains the suspension of duties on Chinese ship-to-shore cranes that handle about 80% of U.S. containerized port freight. The extension halts port fees that would have added up to $1 million per vessel call on Chinese-built or operated ships entering U.S. harbors under Harmonized Tariff Schedule headings 9903.91.12 through 9903.91.16. The bilateral agreement follows formal notices issued by USTR on Nov. 6 and Beijing's Ministry of Commerce on Nov. 9, continuing the temporary truce initially established following bilateral trade discussions in late 2025. Washington launched the probe under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 after domestic labor unions filed a petition alleging Chinese state subsidies gave state yards unfair structural advantages in global commercial shipbuilding. Under the original enforcement rules, the U.S. administration proposed vessel fees that targeted Chinese-owned or operated ships as well as international shipping lines calling at U.S. terminals with Chinese-built hulls. China responded by creating a reciprocal port charge on American-linked ships and penalizing foreign shipbuilding entities that cooperated with the U.S. investigation, including South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean. China's Ministry of Commerce Order No. 4 of 2026 suspended enforcement of sanctions against five U.S. subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean, keeping the affiliates operational while trade talks proceed in Beijing. The targeted units include Hanwha Philly Shipyard, Hanwha Shipping, Hanwha Shipping Holdings, Hanwha Ocean USA International and HS USA Holdings, which had faced restrictions barring Chinese entities from commercial cooperation. Hanwha Ocean completed its $100 million purchase of Philly Shipyard in 2024 to build commercial vessels and naval support ships, aiming to capture part of the expanding U.S. fleet revitalization program. Direct financial exposure from the Chinese sanctions remains limited for Hanwha Ocean because its Philadelphia yard does not rely on Chinese procurement or commercial contracts, company filings indicate. The pause removes immediate legal vulnerability for the South Korean shipbuilder while it operates its offshore module yard in Yantai, China, which accounts for roughly 15% of the shipbuilder's fabrication capacity. For international container lines, the extended suspension provides operational stability for trans-Pacific schedules during the peak holiday shipping season and avoids immediate port congestion across West Coast container hubs. Global carriers had warned that resuming the Section 301 fees would have triggered emergency port surcharges of several hundred dollars per container, raising transportation costs across retail and agricultural supply chains. Trade associations including the World Shipping Council submitted public comments to USTR Docket USTR-2026-0694 in October, warning that unilateral harbor fees would disrupt international trade corridors without reviving domestic vessel construction capacity. The maritime standoff has also shaped the commercial fleet orderbook, where shipowners have weighed the regulatory risk of placing long-term orders at Chinese yards against higher pricing at South Korean and Japanese competitors. State-run China State Shipbuilding Corp. controls approximately 22% of the global commercial shipbuilding orderbook, competing directly with South Korean yards for ultra-large containerships, liquefied natural gas carriers and dual-fuel vessels. South Korean shipbuilders, including HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries, currently hold delivery slots booked through 2028, limiting their ability to absorb diverted short-term commercial orders. Brokerage estimates show that a 15,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit container vessel built in China costs roughly $15 million less than an equivalent hull ordered from a South Korean yard. Japanese shipbuilders including Imabari Shipbuilding hold roughly 10% of the global commercial backlog, concentrating primarily on bulk carriers where Chinese yards maintain an average 12% price discount across standard Capesize designs. The two-month reprieve allows shipowners to continue taking deliveries of Chinese-built tonnage without immediate penalty, but commercial buyers have maintained contingency clauses in newbuilding contracts to hedge against resumed port fees. The suspension also freezes proposed tariffs of 25% on ship-to-shore gantry cranes made by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries, which supplies more than 70% of the heavy container-handling cranes deployed at U.S. marine terminals. Terminal operators have told federal regulators that sourcing non-Chinese cranes requires multi-year delivery lead times and increases unit capital costs by more than 30%, threatening planned harbor automation upgrades. Bilateral working groups have scheduled technical maritime discussions in Washington ahead of the January deadline to review port access rules, vessel registration guidelines and equipment procurement standards. The published administrative notices do not state whether ocean carriers will apply contingency surcharges if negotiations break down, and neither government disclosed terms for a permanent maritime settlement. The USTR suspension runs through 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Jan. 9, 2027, while China's Ministry of Transport confirmed its reciprocal fee suspension remains effective through Jan. 10, 2027. ## Impact map | Event | Korea | China | Japan | Global impact | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Section 301 maritime fee suspension extension | Hanwha Ocean avoids sanctions enforcement on five U.S. subsidiaries through Jan. 10, 2027 | Chinese yards retain $15M per vessel price advantage on container tonnage without port penalty | Japanese bulk shipbuilders avoid immediate diverted demand as order delivery slots remain fixed | Trans-Pacific container carriers avoid emergency port surcharges and schedule disruption through peak season | | Section 301 maritime fee suspension extension | Hanwha Ocean avoids sanctions enforcement on five U.S. subsidiaries through Jan. 10, 2027 | Chinese yards retain | | | | Section 301 maritime fee suspension extension | Hanwha Ocean avoids sanctions enforcement on five U.S. subsidiaries through Jan. 10, 2027 | Chinese yards retain $15M per vessel price advantage on container tonnage without port penalty | Japanese bulk shipbuilders avoid immediate diverted demand as order delivery slots remain fixed | Trans-Pacific container carriers avoid emergency port surcharges and schedule disruption through peak season | ## In this story - **Companies:** Hanwha Ocean - **Tickers:** 042660.KS - **Exposed:** China State Shipbuilding Corp, Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering - **Policy:** Tariffs, Sanctions - **Impact:** Cost Structure, Compliance ## Primary sources 1. ustr.gov 2. mofcom.gov.cn 3. federalregister.gov 4. edaily.co.kr 5. news1.kr --- Cite as: East Asia Brief, "US and China prolong Section 301 port fee truce through January," November 13, 2026. https://eastasiabrief.com/shipbuilding/us-china-prolong-section-301-port-fee-truce-through-1380