4 October 2025 – According to Reuters, U.S. ocean carrier Matson Inc. has paid $6.4 million in port entry fees to China since the charges were introduced on 14 October, Chief Executive Matt Cox said on Tuesday.
The payments were made under reciprocal port levies imposed by both Washington and Beijing, which were announced earlier this year as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to counter China’s influence in global shipping and strengthen U.S. shipbuilding capacity. China responded by applying identical port charges to vessels linked to the United States.
Last week, President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping agreed to suspend those mutual levies for 12 months, effective 10 November. The temporary pause also included a reduction of certain U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports and a freeze on China’s planned restrictions on rare earth exports.
During Matson’s quarterly earnings call, Cox said the company expects further guidance from the U.S. Trade Representative and China’s Ministry of Transport on potential refund procedures regarding port entry fees. He described the agreement as “a welcome development.”
Without the suspension, Matson projected that its annual exposure to the Chinese port fees could have reached $80 million in both 2026 and 2027, according to Cox.
Analysts cited by Reuters said that China’s state-owned COSCO Shipping Lines faced the greatest impact from the U.S. port levies, with potential annual costs estimated at $1.5 billion.
