Trump’s Maritime Action Plan revives cargo fee threat as US import volumes weaken

The Trump administration released its long-delayed Maritime Action Plan (MAP) on Thursday 13 February, a policy document that revives a controversial proposal to levy per-kilogram fees on imported cargo carried by foreign-built ships — a measure that could fundamentally alter cost structures for carriers serving the United States.

The plan sets out a four-pillar strategy to rebuild domestic shipbuilding capacity, reform maritime workforce training, protect the maritime industrial base through regulatory and trade measures, and strengthen national security. Central to the proposed funding mechanism is a universal fee on all foreign-built commercial vessels calling at US ports, assessed on the weight of imported tonnage. The MAP models a fee range from US$0.01 to US$0.25 per kilogram, which it estimates would yield between roughly US$66bn and nearly US$1.5trn over a decade.

The MAP also proposes the creation of up to 100 “maritime prosperity zones,” modelled on opportunity zones, to attract private-sector and allied investment into shipbuilding regions, and a Maritime Security Trust Fund to channel fee revenues into shipyard modernisation and maritime infrastructure projects.