BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Perhaps lost in the shuffle of President Donald Trump’s sweeping international tariffs is a proposal from the administration to increase port fees on most of the maritime fleet, specifically on Chinese vessels operating in U.S. waters. 

The proposal would assess heavy fees on each port entrance against Chinese shipping operators, Chinese-built ships, and non-Chinese operators that currently own or have ordered Chinese-built ships for their fleets. 

Further, the administration is  proposing rules requiring exporters to utilize U.S.-flagged-and-operated vessels on an escalating schedule over the next seven years, according to the Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA), which issued a statement warning that under the proposed fee increase from the Trump Administration, corn farmers could expect to add 43 -65 cents per bushel in transportation cost to foreign markets reached by ship if the port fees are adopted.

“The size of the U.S. shipbuilding industry is supremely small. Of the roughly 21,000 bulk vessels operating around the world today, only seven are U.S. flagged and only five are U.S. built. To meet the Trump Administration’s goals for American production, the U.S. would need to build, operate and flag more than 900 Handymax vessels, and 400 Panamax vessels (or some combination of the two) within three years.  For context, during peak ship production in the U.S. back in the 1970s, we only produced 15-20 ships per year,” the March 27 ICGA statement reads, in part. 

The issue gained momentum on March 12, 2024, when a group of petitioners filed a Section 301 petition to the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding China’s perceived efforts to dominate the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sector. In April 2024, under the Biden administration, the USTR initiated an investigation into the matter, concluding that “China’s targeting of the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance is unreasonable and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce and thus is actionable.”  

The Trump administration took up the issue in February 2025, when the USTR released to the public its proposed actions resulting from the investigation. These actions included the assessment of fees of up to $1.5 million on every ship arriving at U.S. ports if the ships are Chinese built, operated or flagged.  

“Imposing port fees on most of the maritime fleet that exports from and imports to the U.S. will increase costs for U.S. farmers — both in terms of inputs like fertilizer, seed, etc., and getting crops to market,” said Mike Koehne, an Indiana farmer and Soy Transportation Coalition (STC) chairman who testified during a USTR public hearing on March 24, 2025 in Washington.  “At the same time, our competitors in Brazil and Argentina will not be subject to the same regulations. While well-intended, this proposal would ensure U.S. soybeans will bear higher costs and be less competitive in the global marketplace.”  

The American Soybean Association (ASA) estimated the costs of a $1 million fee on soybean exports. For vessels loaded with 70,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans, total transportation costs from the Pacific Northwest to China would increase from $11.90 per bushel to $12.29 per bushel. From the Mississippi Gulf to Japan, total transportation costs would increase from $12.22 per bushel to $12.61 per bushel, according to ASA projections.

“The proposed actions by USTR will clearly diminish the ability of U.S. farmers to compete in the international marketplace,” stated Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the STC, in an email. “Transportation can facilitate farmer profitability or be an obstacle to it. It all depends upon how cost-effective and reliable that transportation system is. The proposed actions by USTR would add significant costs to the soybeans and soy products U.S. farmers export to the global marketplace. One more obstacle to farmer profitability will have been erected.”

Illinois farmers export roughly 30 percent of their corn to foreign markets around the globe, along with millions of gallons of ethanol according to the ICGA. “Access and profitability in foreign markets is vital for the success of not just Illinois, but all of American agriculture. Per the United States Department of Agriculture, in 2024 the U.S. exported more than $13.9 billion of corn to markets around the globe with Mexico, Japan, Colombia, South Korea, and Canada being the top five (destinations) for U.S. corn,” Illinois Corn stated.

The March 24 USTR public hearing in which Koehne and various stakeholders offered comments on USTR’s proposed action resulting from their “Section 301 Investigation of China’s Targeting of the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuiding Sectors for Dominance” can be accessed at: https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/enforcement/section-301-investigations/section-301-china-targeting-maritime-logistics-and-shipbuilding-sectors-dominance.