US agricultural shippers warned that reviving USTR's suspended port fees on Chinese-built ships would add an estimated $600 to $900 per container to farm exports, enough, the Agriculture Transportation Coalition says, to send overseas buyers to Brazil.
Why it's back: Senators Elizabeth Warren and Mark Kelly urged USTR Jamieson Greer to reinstate the Section 301 fees, which took effect last October and were suspended a month later under the Trump-Xi trade deal.
Their evidence that the fees were working: Chinese shipyard orders fell 23.5% after the fees were announced, then rebounded once the suspension hit.
They want Greer's answer by June 21, 2026.
How the fees work: The original action set two fee structures that stack. Chinese-owned or -operated vessels pay $80 per net ton, rising to $140 by 2028, while Chinese-built vessels run by other carriers pay $153 per container, climbing to $250.
Ships that are both face both fees on the same call, which is how COSCO and OOCL paid roughly $42 million in their first week.
Alphaliner estimates the top 10 carriers would face $3.2 billion in 2026 if the fees resume.
Why ag is exposed: Bulk grain largely escapes because vessels arriving empty to load are exempt under the original action.
Container ships are not, and containers carry about 30% of US waterborne ag exports by volume: beef, pork, dairy, cotton, and processed foods. "The proposed remedies threaten the very existence of large segments of US agriculture," AgTC executive director Peter Friedmann said in comments to USTR.
What to watch: The exposure runs through the carrier contract, since fleets differ in their Chinese-built share and carriers are split on pass-through. Maersk says it has "no intention" of adding surcharges; other carriers have not made that commitment.
Greer's June 21 response will signal which way USTR leans; the suspension lapses November 9, 2026 regardless.
