The United States and China have agreed to a one-year suspension of their respective port service fees on vessels with a US or Chinese nexus, effective 10 November 2025. The agreement follows trade discussions and aims to stabilise maritime and economic relations between both nations.Further to press reports of a trade deal reached between the United States and China on 30 October 2025, the White House has published a Fact Sheet dated 1 November 2025, available here.The Fact Sheet confirms that a “trade and economic deal” was reached in the Republic of Korea between U.S. President Donald J. Trump and President Xi Jinping of China. It includes the following statement regarding suspension of the US service fees imposed on vessels with a Chinese nexus:"The United States will suspend for one year, starting on November 10, 2025, implementation of the responsive actions taken pursuant to the Section 301 investigation on China’s Targeting the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance. In the meantime, the United States will negotiate with China pursuant to Section 301 while continuing its historic cooperation with the Republic of Korea and Japan on revitalizing American shipbuilding."The PRC Ministry of Commerce has also reported on the agreement (Chinese version only), available here.According to that report, the United States will suspend its Section 301 measures first, after which China will reciprocally suspend its special port fees on vessels with a US nexus. A free English translation of the relevant passage follows:Q: It is understood that China and the United States reached a joint arrangement to resolve their respective concerns regarding trade and economic issues during the trade discussions in Kuala Lumpur. Could the Ministry of Commerce provide more details about the consensus reached during the Kuala Lumpur trade discussions?A: The leaders of China and the United States just met in Busan, South Korea, and discussed in depth issues such as China–U.S. economic and trade relations, agreeing to strengthen cooperation in economic and trade fields. China is willing to work with the United States to jointly safeguard and implement the important consensus reached at the meeting between the two heads of state.The main achievements and consensus reached by the China-U.S. economic and trade teams through discussions in Kuala Lumpur are as follows:"…the United States will suspend implementation of the measures from the Section 301 investigations against China's maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding industries for one year. Following the U.S. suspension, China will also suspend implementation of its countermeasures against the United States for one year....The positive results achieved in the China–U.S. trade discussions in Kuala Lumpur fully demonstrate that both sides, adhering to the principles of equality, respect, and mutual benefit, can find solutions to problems through dialogue and cooperation. The results of the trade discussions were hard-won, and China looks forward to working with the United States to implement them and inject more certainty and stability into China-U.S. trade cooperation and the world economy.”Accordingly, if the United States duly implements its suspension on 10 November 2025, China is expected to suspend its countermeasures against vessels with a US nexus for the same one-year period.Further clarification is awaited, including whether fees will continue to be charged in the interim period up to 10 November 2025. No details have yet been published on this or on any potential refund or claw-back mechanism for fees already paid or payable in the interim period, although there are reports that some ship operators are engaging U.S. counsel to seek guidance from the relevant US authorities.As advised previously, should members be unsure about how the port fees will affect them, they should seek US or PRC legal advice as appropriate, or contact the Club’s dedicated US-China Tariffs team or t