On February 21, 2025, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced its proposed actions following the Section 301 investigation of China’s targeting of the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance.

The Section 301 investigation was initiated on April 17, 2024. Following the investigation, USTR determined that China’s targeting of the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance is unreasonable and burdens U.S. commerce, in part because it displaces foreign firms and restricts business opportunities in the U.S.

Key aspects of USTR’s proposed actions following its determination include:

Fees on Services:

  • Charging Chinese maritime transport operators a service fee up to $1 million per entrance to a U.S. port or up to $1,000 per net ton of the vessel’s capacity.
  • Charging maritime transport operators with fleets comprised of Chinese-built vessels a fee up to $1.5 million upon entrance to a U.S. port.
  • Charging maritime transport operators with prospective orders for Chinese vessels an additional service fee based on the percentage of vessels ordered from Chinese shipyards.
  • Service fee remission up to $1 million per entry into a U.S. port for U.S.-built vessels through which the operator is providing international maritime transport services.

Restrictions on Services to Promote the Transport of U.S. Goods on U.S. Vessels:

  • Annual requirements that the international maritime transport of a certain percentage of U.S. goods is exported on U.S.-flagged vessels by U.S. operators. The percentage requirements increase incrementally after the date of action, starting with 1% as of the date of action, 3% two years following the date of action, 5% three years following the date of action, and 15% seven years following the date of action.  

Other Actions:

  • Proposed actions to reduce exposure to China’s National Transportation and Logistics Public Information Platform (LOGINK) and similar platforms.
  • Potential negotiations with U.S. allies to reduce dependencies on China in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors.

The comment period for the proposed actions opened on February 21, 2025. The deadline for written comments is March 24, 2025.

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Photo of Daniel Cannistra Daniel Cannistra

Dan Cannistra is a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. His practice focuses on legislative, executive and regulatory representation of domestic and international clients on a broad spectrum of international trade matters. Dan has represented domestic and foreign companies in over 75

…

Dan Cannistra is a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. His practice focuses on legislative, executive and regulatory representation of domestic and international clients on a broad spectrum of international trade matters. Dan has represented domestic and foreign companies in over 75 U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty cases before the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission under the Tariff Act of 1930. Many of these matters involved appeals to the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, binational panels under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and dispute settlement proceedings before the World Trade Organization (WTO). Dan has also represented clients in antidumping proceedings in the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, India, Thailand, Singapore, Guatemala and Taiwan.

Prior to joining Crowell & Moring, Dan was a director in a national accounting firm providing customs and international trade guidance to multinational clients related to the supply and distribution of goods and services across international borders. Areas of specialization included antidumping and countervailing duties and policy, trade remedies and litigation, free trade agreements and negotiations, classification and valuation, and international trade and development.

Dan’s government appointments include service to U.S. Trade Representative on the roster of international trade practitioners to resolve antidumping disputes involving NAFTA members. For the European Commission, Dan provided advice and training on international trade and antidumping methodology and practice. In addition, Dan has served as an international trade consultant to the governments of Guatemala and Singapore, providing technical advice to these governments on the application of international trade regulations consistent with international law and World Trade Organization agreements and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, Agreement on Antidumping.

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Photo of Jasmine Masri Jasmine Masri

Jasmine Masri is an associate in Crowell & Moring’s Government Contracts and International Trade groups. Jasmine focuses her practice on global compliance issues, regulatory enforcement matters, and government investigations. Through her practice, Jasmine provides counsel on a variety of matters at the intersection…

Jasmine Masri is an associate in Crowell & Moring’s Government Contracts and International Trade groups. Jasmine focuses her practice on global compliance issues, regulatory enforcement matters, and government investigations. Through her practice, Jasmine provides counsel on a variety of matters at the intersection of government contracts and international trade, including cross-border government procurement, economic sanctions, and export controls.

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Photo of Ivy Xun Ivy Xun

Ivy Xun is an international trade analyst in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office. She provides practice support to the International Trade Group on import regulatory matters pending before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. She…

Ivy Xun is an international trade analyst in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office. She provides practice support to the International Trade Group on import regulatory matters pending before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. She works closely with attorneys developing courses of action for clients impacted by investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Ivy also supports unfair trade investigations, including antidumping and countervailing duty investigations, sunset reviews, and changed circumstance reviews before the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission.

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