Two China deadlines run out at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Monday, Nov 9, 2026, and neither date has moved on paper. Only a notice from the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) can move them.
The first is the pause on USTR's port fees for China-linked ships, which also pauses the duties on Chinese ship-to-shore cranes and cargo handling equipment. The second is the extension of 178 product exclusions from the China Section 301 tariffs. One lands on your freight bill, the other on your duty bill.
Key dates
Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
Oct 14, 2025 | USTR's port fees on China-linked ships start being charged | |
Nov 10, 2025 | The fees and the crane duties are paused for one year | |
Dec 1, 2025 | The 178 exclusions are extended to Nov 9, 2026 | |
Oct 7, 2026 | USTR says the 2018 China tariffs stay in effect | |
Nov 9, 2026, 11:59 p.m. ET | The fee pause and the 178 exclusions both end, unless USTR publishes a new notice |
As of Oct 13, 2026, no USTR notice in the Federal Register moves either date.
What it means for freight
The port fees are charged to ship operators, not importers. If they come back, expect carriers to pass them through as surcharges on the freight bill, not on your duty bill.
These are the fees USTR set in April 2025, as changed in October 2025:
Who pays | Fee from Oct 14, 2025 | Next step in the schedule |
|---|---|---|
Chinese operators and owners | $50 per net ton | $80 per net ton from Apr 17, 2026 |
Operators of Chinese-built ships | $18 per net ton or $120 per container discharged, whichever is higher | $23 per net ton or $153 per container from Apr 17, 2026 |
Foreign-built vehicle carriers | $46 per net ton | None listed |
Sources: FR 2025-06927 and FR 2025-19568.
A fee is charged once per U.S. rotation, at the first U.S. port, and at most five times a year per ship. For Chinese-built ships, the exemptions include ships of 4,000 TEU or less, ships arriving empty and voyages under 2,000 nautical miles. The pause notice doesn't say which step of the schedule would apply if the fees come back on Nov 10.
The same pause covers the 100% duties on Chinese ship-to-shore cranes and on intermodal chassis and chassis parts.
What it means for duty
The 178 exclusions are two groups: 164 that USTR extended in May 2024, plus 14 for solar manufacturing equipment granted in September 2024. Entries claim them under HTS headings 9903.88.69 and 9903.88.70.
An exclusion only covers goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from a bonded warehouse, before the deadline. After it, the product goes back to its regular Section 301 rate. What counts is the entry date on your customs filing, not the sail date, the same rule we flagged for Section 122 in July.
The two notices also use different time zones. The fee pause ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The exclusion notice says 11:59 p.m. eastern daylight time. Daylight time ends Nov 1, and 11:59 p.m. daylight time is 10:59 p.m. standard time. The same notice also says "until November 10, 2026" in one place. It says CBP will issue entry guidance, and we haven't found any on the cutoff yet. Until then, don't count on the last hour.
Gateway's tariff calculator has never applied the 178 exclusions, so its Section 301 figures won't change on Nov 10.
What to check this week
Are you using an exclusion? If your entries list 9903.88.69 or 9903.88.70, you are. The products covered are set out in U.S. notes 20(vvv) and 20(www) to chapter 99 of the HTS.
Is your ship China-built or China-operated? Ask your carrier or forwarder whether a fee would apply to your vessel and how it would show up on your bill.
When will your goods be entered? Cargo that won't reach a U.S. port before the deadline can't be entered in time. For goods in a bonded warehouse, the withdrawal date is what counts.
What could change before Nov 9
Only a USTR notice in the Federal Register can move either date. The pause notice says USTR will consider, before Nov 10, 2026, whether to continue the pause or take further action.
In late September, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the wider U.S.-China truce would run to Jan 10, 2027. No USTR notice has applied that to the fees or the exclusions.
Late notices have happened before. USTR extended these exclusions three times in 2025, and the last extension wasn't published until Dec 1, after the old Nov 29 deadline had passed. It applied back to Nov 30.
The tariffs the exclusions carve out of aren't going anywhere. On Oct 7, USTR said the 2018 China actions stay in effect and that it will run a new four-year review.
We'll update this article the day USTR acts.
Sources
FR 2025-06927, 90 FR 17114 (Apr 23, 2025): USTR's action on China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors, with the port fee schedule
FR 2025-19568, 90 FR 48320 (Oct 16, 2025): USTR's changes to the port fees and the crane and chassis duties
FR 2025-19873, 90 FR 50947 (Nov 13, 2025): USTR's one-year pause of the fees and the crane and chassis duties
FR 2025-21671, 90 FR 55232 (Dec 1, 2025): USTR's extension of the 178 exclusions
FR 2026-20510, 91 FR 64212 (Oct 7, 2026): USTR's continuation of the 2018 China actions