The US government recently released its Maritime Action Plan (MAP) aimed at restoring what President Trump calls “America’s maritime dominance.”
Developed from an executive order signed in April, the strategy outlines measures to strengthen the US shipping sector, including incentives for shipyard investment, expanded mariner training and regulatory changes intended to boost domestic trade.
A central feature is a proposed port fee on foreign-built vessels calling at US ports. Cast as a national security initiative, the measure argues that ships constructed abroad but operating in US trade should help finance the rebuilding of American maritime capacity. The plan would impose a security charge each time such vessels dock.
Rather than a flat rate, the MAP suggests calculating the fee according to the weight of imported cargo on board. It presents illustrative scenarios, estimating that a levy of one cent per kilogram could raise about $66bn over 10 years, while a 25-cent charge might generate nearly $1.5tn.
The document does not address a separate port fee introduced by the US Trade Representative in October 2025. That policy, also aimed at non-US-built ships, was paused until November 2026 after US-China trade negotiations and Beijing’s retaliatory tariffs, and its future remains uncertain.
As a strategic framework rather than draft legislation, the MAP leaves major questions unanswered, including timing and how costs would be distributed across carriers and shippers, creating continued uncertainty for the industry.