USTR Implements New Fees Targeting Chinese-Linked Maritime Assets
- research89
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
In June, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) moved decisively to address China’s ongoing dominance strategies in the global maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors. Starting October 14, 2025, Chinese-linked vessels calling at US ports will face a new service fee, kicking off at $50 per net ton and set to rise annually to $140 per net ton by April 2028.
Additional clarifications and fee adjustments were published in October 2025 to further refine the policy.
How will this impact the oil tanker shipping market?
Our latest Vantage Shipbrokers Research Desk brief highlights key segment impacts:
VLCC: This segment has the highest exposure to Annex 1 which accounts for about 20% of VLCC liftings from the USG for 2024-2025. However, minimal impact to freight rates are expected as the market appears to have largely adjusted ahead of the service fee implementation. In the short term, we may still see a slight lengthening of the position list exerting downward pressure on freight rates across other trade lanes, such as TD3C, unless OPEC+ further boosts exports through the unwinding of its production cuts.
Suezmax: Limited impact anticipated, as the majority of Suezmaxes operate in the USG-UKCM market which are exempt from USTR fees. Annex I/II ships from the WAF/S.AM-USG market are few and can be redeployed easily.
Aframax/LR2: Minimal direct exposure as most vessels in and around the US do not fall under new Annex definitions.
LR2/LR1: The bulk of US CPP imports and exports are moved on MRs, which remain exempt. LR2/LR1s are primarily used for CPP exports to S.AM/Caribs, whilst owners on the WCI-USEC have sufficient non-Chinese built vessels within their fleet to enable re-deployment.
For a deeper dive and our full research brief, connect with our team at Research@vntg-corp.com.
