USTR proposes a further two-month suspension of Section 301 fees on maritime transport

Current suspension runs to 9 November 2026; comments close 30 October. What to map in contracts and quotes on US trade lanes.

The USTR, the Office of the US Trade Representative, proposed in a notice published on 26 October 2026 a further two-month suspension of the Section 301 port fees on China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors. The current suspension runs through 11:59 p.m. US Eastern Time (ET) on 9 November 2026. The proposal would extend it from 12:00 a.m. ET on 10 November 2026 to 11:59 p.m. ET on 9 January 2027.

The proposal suspends the fees on maritime transport services under Annexes I, II or III of the notice of 23 April 2025, as amended on 16 October 2025, and the tariffs in Annex V.A of the notice of 16 October 2025. Since 10 November 2025, with the suspension in force, no party accrues liability for the fees on maritime transport services under those annexes. This is only a proposal: as of 27 October 2026 there is no final decision.

Comments have been open since 9:00 a.m. ET on 23 October 2026. To be considered, they must arrive by 5:00 p.m. ET on 30 October 2026, through the portal comments.ustr.gov. Without a final decision to extend, the current suspension ends on 9 November 2026.

Freight forwarders and NVOCCs. If the fees are demanded again, carriers are likely to charge them to whoever booked the freight, and a freight forwarder must not be left with a cost it did not create. Review the surcharge and government fee clauses in contracts with carriers and with customers, and quotes valid after 10 November 2026. A charge by the carrier is a risk to map, not a fact.

Importers. Check under which purchase and freight terms an extra cost charged by the carrier stays with your company. The point applies to shipments on routes involving US ports that sail after 10 November 2026.

Exporters. Map which carriers and vessels serve your routes to the US, and ask your freight forwarder or NVOCC for that information shipment by shipment. The notice covers maritime transport services, and the exposure of each operation depends on the carrier and the vessel used.

Our take

the deadline is the key fact. The current suspension ends on 9 November 2026, and the extension counts only if it becomes a final decision. Between 28 October and 10 November 2026, map surcharge and government fee clauses and open quotes, identify carriers and vessels on US routes, and decide by 30 October whether your company comments. The exposure of each operation requires a technical reading of the amended notice and its annexes.

Questions for your company

Freight forwarders and NVOCCs: Which contracts with carriers and with customers have a surcharge or government fee clause, and what does it say about a fee created or reactivated after the quote?
Freight forwarders and NVOCCs: Which open quotes are valid after 10 November 2026, and who bears the difference if a fee is demanded again?
Importers: On which shipments sailing after 10 November 2026 do the purchase and freight terms leave an extra carrier charge with your company?
Exporters: Which carriers and vessels serve your routes to the US, and who in your company receives that information shipment by shipment?
All: Who decides, by 5:00 p.m. ET on 30 October 2026, whether your company files a comment with the USTR, and with what data?
All: Who in your company checks the USTR's final decision again before 9 November 2026, when the current suspension ends?

In numbers

2 months: of additional suspension proposed by the USTR for the Section 301 fees, from 10 Nov 2026 to 9 Jan 2027
9 Nov 2026: end of the current suspension, at 11:59 p.m. ET
9 Jan 2027: end of the proposed suspension, at 11:59 p.m. ET
30 Oct 2026: deadline for comments, at 5:00 p.m. ET, at comments.ustr.gov

The current suspension ends on 9 November 2026, and the proposal would take it to 9 January 2027, two months longer. It is only a proposal, with no final decision as of 27 October 2026. Comments close on 30 October 2026.

Sources

What changed

ANTAQ publishes tender notice for container terminal auction at the Port of Fortaleza

ANTAQ

ANTAQ, Brazil's waterway transport regulator, published on 23 October 2026 the notice for Auction No. 05/2026-ANTAQ, covering the MUC04 container terminal at the Port of Fortaleza, in Ceará state. The session will take place on 9 December 2026 at 2:00 p.m. (Brasília time) at B3, the São Paulo stock exchange. The winner is the bid with the highest grant payment, the amount paid to the government for the right to operate the terminal. According to ANTAQ, it is the first container terminal auction in more than ten years, with a 25-year term.

Gentil reading: For those with cargo through the Port of Fortaleza, the result defines who operates the terminal for the term of the contract. Map which shipments go through terminals at the port and who in your company follows the auction and the winning bid.

Source: ANTAQ, ANTAQ publica edital do primeiro leilão de terminal de contêineres em mais de dez anos (notícia de 26/10/2026; edital publicado em 23/10/2026); ANTAQ, Leilão nº 05/2026-ANTAQ, MUC04

Siscomex to have LPCO templates for exporting 12 products to Norway under the Mercosur-EFTA quota

Siscomex

From 1 November 2026, exports of twelve products to Norway within the Mercosur-EFTA agreement quota will have LPCO templates, the licence, permit or certificate requested in Siscomex, Brazil's single foreign trade window. The agreement enters into force between Brazil and Norway on that date. The products include beef, chicken meat, natural honey, maize and soybean meal. Requests are reviewed in order of arrival. After the licence is granted and the linked export declaration (DU-E) is cleared, the Mercosur Quota Authorisation Certificate is issued and presented on admission in Norway, and the DU-E item must carry classification code 80123.

Gentil reading: Exporters of these products: map which of the twelve you sell to Norway and who in your company requests the licence and fills in the DU-E item with code 80123. Because review follows order of arrival, the timing of the request may weigh on use of the quota. The operation involves licence, declaration and certificate in sequence, and requires a technical reading of the notice.

Source: Portal Único Siscomex, Comunicado Siscomex Exportação nº 026/2026 (publicado em 23/10/2026); Itamaraty, Portal Concórdia, Acordo Mercosul-EFTA; MDIC, Acordo Mercosul-EFTA entra em vigor e MDIC lança painel para ampliar acesso às novas oportunidades

EU charges 3 euros per item on low-value e-commerce consignments

Since 1 July 2026, the European Union has charged a temporary customs duty of 3 euros per item on low-value e-commerce consignments. It applies to consignments with an intrinsic value of up to 150 euros that result from distance sales to consumers (B2C) of imported goods. The duty applies until 1 July 2028, according to the European Commission.

Gentil reading: Exporters selling to European consumers through e-commerce, and freight forwarders that consolidate those consignments: map which consignments fall within 150 euros and how many items each carries, because the charge is per item. Also define in the contract who bears the amount, the seller or the buyer.

Source: Comissão Europeia, Access2Markets, EU applies €3 customs duty per item on low-value e-commerce consignments (Regulamento (UE) 2026/382 do Conselho, de 11/02/2026; Regulamento de Execução (UE) 2026/1200, de 5/6/2026); Comissão Europeia, EU customs reform

Calendar

30 Oct: Deadline for comments on the USTR proposal to suspend the Section 301 fees, 5:00 p.m. ET, at comments.ustr.gov
1 Nov: Mercosur-EFTA agreement enters into force between Brazil and Norway, and LPCO templates for the quota become available in Siscomex
4 Nov: Deadline for contributions to ANTAQ's Call for Input SRG No. 03/2026 on container demurrage and detention, 23:59 Brasília time
9 Nov: End of the current suspension of the Section 301 actions on the maritime sector, 11:59 p.m. ET
9 Dec: Auction of the MUC04 terminal at the Port of Fortaleza, 2:00 p.m. Brasília time, at B3 in São Paulo
9 Jan 2027: End of the suspension proposed by the USTR, if it becomes a final decision, 11:59 p.m. ET

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