Siem Car Carriers urges USTR to cancel fees on foreign-built PCTCs

Siem Car Carriers has urged the US Trade Representative (USTR) to permanently withdraw port fees imposed on foreign-built vehicle carriers under its Section 301 maritime action, warning that their reinstatement would increase shipping costs and risk reducing vessel capacity serving the US market.

The fees were first proposed in February 2025 and were due to come into force in October that year, but were suspended under a US-China trade agreement to allow further negotiations. The suspension was due to expire on 9 November 2026, but the USTR has now proposed extending it until 9 January 2027.

The measures covered vessels owned or operated by Chinese companies and ships built in China, as well as all foreign-built vehicle carriers calling at US ports, regardless of ownership or country of construction. The US$150 per CEU fee on foreign-built vehicle carriers was intended, according to the USTR and the Trump administration, to encourage the use of US-built car carriers and create a demand signal for investment in domestic shipbuilding capacity.

In a submission to USTR in response to its request for comments on a further suspension of the measures (Docket USTR-2026-0694), the Norwegian carrier supported extending the suspension of the maritime action targeting China’s maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors, requesting that USTR permanently withdraws the fees. Siem Car Carriers operates pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs) on Atlantic and Pacific trades.

This story was originally published by World Cargo News. Read the full story at World Cargo News →