Letters to Washington
| July 7, 2025

Coalition Comments to USTR on Proposed Actions in Response to the Section 301 Investigation of China's Targeting of the Maritime, Logistics and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance

The undersigned organizations representing a wide breadth of our nation’s economy, including importers, exporters, farmers and agribusinesses, retailers, manufacturers, energy providers, wholesalers, transportation and logistics providers, and other sectors, urge the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to again refrain from imposing its proposed actions in response to the Section 301 investigation of China’s targeting the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors for dominance. As we previously submitted to USTR during the initial comment period, the groups support scrutiny of China’s efforts to dominate the maritime industry. However, we still strongly believe that USTR’s final actions will not deter China’s broader maritime ambitions and will instead directly hurt American businesses and consumers. While we appreciate that USTR made significant changes to the final actions, the port fee remains in place. These fees will be passed along directly to the cargo owners, U.S. importers and exporters to pay.