Trump Administration Takes Two Section 301-Related Actions in June and August

The Trump Administration recently took two notable actions under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (“Section 301”) affecting existing and proposed tariffs on certain products from China.

First, on August 28, 2025, the Office of the US Trade Representative (“USTR”) extended the 352 product-specific exclusions and 77 COVID-related exclusions under the Section 301 investigation of China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation.¹ These exclusions are currently extended through November 29, 2025. The exclusions were previously set to expire on August 31, 2025.

Second, on June 6, 2025, USTR opened a public comment process to consider modifying certain proposed actions arising from its Section 301 investigation into China’s targeting of the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors. That investigation had found that “China’s targeting for dominance burdens or restricts US commerce by undercutting business opportunities for and investments in the US maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors; restricting competition and choice; creating economic security risks from dependence and vulnerabilities in sectors critical to the functioning of the US economy; and undermining supply chain resilience.”

As a result of this finding, the USTR had initially proposed certain fees in two phases, summarized below:

• Beginning on October 14, 2025:
• Fees on vessel owners and operators of China based on net tonnage per US voyage, increasing incrementally over the following years;
• Fees on operators of Chinese-built ships based on net tonnage or containers, increasing incrementally over the following years; and
• To incentivize US-built car carrier vessels, fees on foreign-built car carrier vessels based on their capacity.
• Beginning on April 17, 2028:
• To incentivize U.S.-built liquified natural gas (LNG) vessels, limited restrictions on transporting LNG via foreign vessels, such as suspension of LNG export licenses for failure to meet LNG transport requirements. These restrictions would increase incrementally over 22 years.

To implement President Donald Trump’s April 2025 Executive Order 14269, Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance, and to reflect stakeholder feedback, USTR has proposed several key modifications:

• Modify the proposed service fee (set to take effect on October 14, 2025) on non-US built Vehicle Carriers (instead of vessels) from $150 per Car Equivalent Unit² to $14 per net ton. Vehicle Carriers will include Roll-On/Roll-Off vessels;
• Exempt US-owned and US-flagged vehicle carriers enrolled in the Maritime Security Program from the foreign-built-vessel fee;
• Remove the proposed suspension of LNG export licenses for failure to meet LNG transport requirements;
• Apply restrictions on certain maritime transport services to both vessel owners and operators; and
• Alter reporting requirements on certain maritime transport services to apply to vessel operators and require vessel operators to report to the US Department of Energy the volume of LNG shipped on US-built/US-operated vessels versus foreign-built/foreign-operated vessels.

In consideration of the above, USTR requested public comments on the following:

• The potential impact of a fee based on net tons and the suggested amount of the fee, implications of a targeted coverage provision for the Maritime Security Program, and suggested duration for such targeted coverage;
• The potential impact of eliminating the term providing for suspension of export licenses as to LNG;
• Whether to apply the data collection requirements described above to vessel operators or owners, and if not, the entity to which it is instead appropriate to apply the requirements; and
• Whether to apply the maritime transport services restrictions to vessel owners or operators, and if not, the entity to which it is instead appropriate to apply the requirements.

The deadline for submission of comments was July 7, 2025. USTR continues to review the comments.

Tariffs remain dynamic under the Trump Administration. Interested parties in tariffs, including Section 301-related actions, should continue to monitor updates from the administration.

¹ As background, on August 18, 2017, USTR initiated an investigation under Section 301 to determine whether the acts, policies, and practices of the Government of China related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict US commerce. On March 22, 2018, USTR released its findings, determining that China employed a series of technology transfer related acts, policies, and practices that are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict US commerce. USTR subsequently published List 1 ($34 Billion Trade Action), List 2 ($16 Billion Trade Action), List 3 ($200 Billion Trade Action), and Lists 4A and 4B ($300 Billion Trade Action), which issued tariffs on certain products that totaled corresponding annual trade value amounts. On October 17, 2024, the USTR reopened a process to request exclusions from these tariffs, which resulted in 352 exclusions. Previously, USTR had also issued COVID-19-related exclusions, which were renewed and resulted in 77 additional exclusions.

² A Car Equivalent Unit (“CEU”) is used to measure the capacity of vehicle or car carriers. A CEU is generally based on the dimensions of a 1966 Toyota Corona RT43: 4125 mm x 1550 mm x 1400 mm. Martide, Glossary of Maritime Terminology.