The U.S. and China agreed on Thursday to pause tit-for-tat fees on each other's ships that became a major irritant in the broader trade war between the world's two largest economies and pushed up ocean freight costs.
The move provides a 12-month reprieve on an estimated $3.2 billion annually in fees for large Chinese-built vessels sailing to U.S. ports and was among the trade deals reached in South Korea by U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Early this year, the Trump administration announced plans to levy fees on China-linked ships to loosen the country's grip on the global maritime industry and bolster U.S. shipbuilding. The so-called Section 301 penalties followed a U.S. probe that concluded China's domination of the global maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors was driven by unfair practices.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Fox Business Network on Thursday that the Section 301 action had been put on hold.
The U.S. Trade Representative's office did not immediately comment whether the pause covered other U.S. penalties, including those on non-U.S. auto carriers built outside of China. The Section 301 penalties also included 100% tariffs on port cranes made in China.
