Emergency Contact Navigating a Tariff World Home Latest updates News Navigating a Tariff World 2 Jul 2025 Download Article PDF Sign up for alerts As of April 2025, the United States (U.S.) has introduced significant tariffs and port fees targeting Chinese owned and Chinese operated vessels as well as Chinese-built vessels entering U.S. ports. The initial proposal took place in February 2025 and it was finalized in April 2025. This was followed by a 180-day grace period. During this pause fees are set to US$ 0 from around April until 14 October 2025 to allow operators time to adjust or place orders for U.S.-built equivalents. These measures mainly aim to counter China's dominance in global shipbuilding and maritime logistics, bolster U.S. national security and revitalize the US domestic shipbuilding industry. Apart from the above mentioned Chinese targeted tariffs, there are also other provisions with tariffs applying to all foreign built vessels, such as vehicle carriers and LNG carriers which are all set out in four different annexes (annex I – IV). In particular, the four annexes introduce tariffs applicable to Chinese operators and owners, Chinese-built vessels, foreign-built vehicle carriers and LNG carriers. Members should carefully review the provisions if they suspect they may fall into any of these categories. Special attention should be given to Annex II, as Members could easily find themselves affected by it, especially if they manage mixed fleets or they have purchased vessels on the second-hand market, given China’s dominant position in the shipbuilding sector. Key Details of the Tariffs The tariffs are scheduled to commence at the end of the grace period on 14 October 2025 with a phased increase over three years. Moving on to the fee structure, as mentioned there are four annexes: Annex I Annex I applies to vessels that are operated or owned by Chinese entities (including Hong Kong and Macau) irrespectively of the size or volume of the vessels. Ownershi