CARIBBEAN businesses are pressing the United States to permanently exempt the region from maritime fees that could send freight costs soaring by as much as 60 per cent, fearing that concessions secured last year could be reversed as Washington continues its trade negotiations with China.

The charges, intended to curb China’s dominance in shipbuilding and maritime logistics, have also placed Caribbean trade in the firing line, given the region’s reliance on Chinesebuilt vessels to transport goods to and from the United States.

Washington suspended the wider measures last November as part of a trade agreement with Beijing and is now considering a further two-month extension until January 9, 2027. The Caricom Private Sector Organisation (CPSO), however, wants the separate exemptions secured for Caribbean shipping in April 2025 made permanent, removing the risk of future policy changes driving up costs along some of the region’s busiest trade routes.

In an October 29 submission to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the CPSO and its US Business Council argued that the original fees could have increased freight costs between Florida and Caribbean ports by 50 to 60 per cent, potentially eroding the competitiveness of imports and disrupting supply chains on which regional businesses depend.

The organisation, which represents more than 6,250 firms across Caricom, maintains that the proposed charges of approximately US$1 million per vessel entry, as initially proposed in February 2025, would disproportionately affect Caribbean shipping, where smaller vessels make frequent trips between islands and US ports, carrying considerably less cargo than the large container ships operating on major international routes.

More than 90 per cent of the region’s merchandise trade moves by sea.

The exemptions subsequently granted by Washington largely shielded the region from those charges, covering qualifying smaller vessels, short-sea voyages of less than 2,000 nautical miles into continental US ports and certain specialised cargo ships.

However, the CPSO is now seeking to close gaps in the existing arrangements, particularly differences in how the US measures treat Chinesebuilt vessels and shipping companies owned or operated by Chinese interests.

The US measures are divided into two main categories: Annex I, which targets Chinese shipping operators, and Annex II, which applies to Chinese-built vessels regardless of ownership. While Annex II provides exemptions for smaller vessels and shortsea services, those same protections are absent from Annex I, potentially leaving some Caribbean shipping services exposed to fees because of who owns or operates the vessels.

The organisation wants those provisions aligned, alongside permanent exemptions for vessels already serving the Caribbean, including Chinese-built ships, and protection for regional transshipment hubs.

The concern is compounded by the Caribbean’s dependence on a shrinking pool of shipping lines, leaving some countries particularly vulnerable to any withdrawal or reduction in service.

According to the CPSO, the number of carriers providing consistent service to Caricom has fallen from more than 15 over the past two decades to just five, with some member states regularly served by only two or three lines.

Each of the five principal carriers operates at least one Chinese-built vessel, while many of the ships serving the region are specifically designed to navigate shallow ports and handle cargo at facilities with limited unloading equipment.

Replacing those vessels would be difficult, particularly as comparable American-built ships are not readily available. The CPSO warned that imposing additional charges could force carriers to reconsider their sailing schedules and routes, threatening the flow of food, manufacturing inputs and other essential goods.

The organisation said the exemptions secured in April 2025 have so far helped preserve those services, with no regular shipping line withdrawing from a Caricom port as a result of the measures and, to its knowledge, no carrier imposing a surcharge to recover the US maritime fees.

The CPSO also drew on Jamaica’s experience following Hurricane Melissa, which struck the island on October 28, 2025, to highlight the importance of maintaining reliable shipping routes during periods of disaster and recovery.

It reasoned that relief supplies, food and reconstruction materials continued arriving from Florida on the same short-sea vessels that would otherwise have been exposed to the charges, allowing shipments to reach the island without the additional costs associated with the US measures.

The organisation added that with reconstruction activity continuing across Jamaica, the reliability of those services remains important to businesses importing building materials, machinery and equipment needed to restore damaged properties and operations.

The implications also extend to the tourism sector, where hotels and other businesses depend on regular shipments of food, beverages, furnishings and supplies, much of which moves through Florida ports.

CPSO is also making the case that permanently exempting Caribbean shipping would protect American commercial interests, given the United States’ dominant position as a supplier to the region.

Figures cited from the US Census Bureau show that merchandise trade between the United States and the 15 Caricom member states reached US$30.1 billion in 2025, with American exports totalling US$18.6 billion against imports of US$11.6 billion.

That left Washington with a trade surplus of approximately US$7 billion, continuing a longstanding pattern in which the US sells substantially more goods to Caricom than it purchases from the region.

American suppliers account for a significant share of Caribbean imports, including food, agricultural products, industrial inputs and consumer goods, with much of that trade moving through PortMiami, Port Everglades and the Port of Palm Beach.

The CPSO argued that higher shipping costs could weaken the competitiveness of those products, encouraging Caribbean importers to turn to alternative suppliers and potentially eroding the US share of a market it has dominated for decades.

Manufacturers dependent on imported raw materials would also face pressure on production costs, while distributors and retailers could be forced to absorb higher freight expenses or pass them on to consumers.

The organisation further cautioned that some goods move through US ports more than once during processing and distribution, meaning charges imposed on individual vessel entries could compound costs along the same supply chain.

Energy exports present another concern, particularly shipments of crude oil, liquefied natural gas, ammonia and methanol from Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and other regional producers.

Many of those operations involve US investment and specialised vessels, including Chinese-built tonnage. Depending on contractual arrangements, additional freight costs could either reduce exporters’ margins or increase prices to buyers, weakening the competitiveness of regional energy products.

Despite its objections to the proposed fees, the CPSO maintains its support for Washington’s efforts to rebuild its shipbuilding and maritime industries, arguing that closer US-Caribbean cooperation would offer a more practical approach than imposing restrictions on existing shipping services.

It has proposed partnerships that could eventually introduce American-built vessels to Caribbean routes as US shipbuilding capacity develops, along with advance consultation on any policy changes affecting regional shipping.

The organisation is also seeking an explicit exemption for shipping to and from the Caribbean Basin, preferably backed by US legislation, to ensure that the region’s treatment is no longer dependent on temporary suspensions or negotiations between Washington and Beijing.

The CPSO argues that such an arrangement would protect established supply chains and give shipping operators, importers and investors greater certainty when making commercial decisions, while preserving a trading relationship valued at more than US$30 billion annually.