The Caircom Private Sector Organisation (CPSO) is calling for permanent exemptions from US maritime service fees for Caribbean shipping, warning that any lapse could increase freight costs and disrupt the movement of goods across the region.
In a news release sent yesterday, the CPSO disclosed that it and the CPSO-US Business Council (CPSO-USBC) had filed joint comments with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), supporting a proposed two-month extension of the suspension of the Section 301 maritime fees.
The fees took effect on October 14, 2025, but their application to Caribbean short-sea shipping was suspended for one year from November 10, 2025. That suspension expires on November 9. The USTR has proposed extending it from November 10, to January 9, 2027.
However, the joint submission also asks the USTR to confirm that the Caribbean exemptions contained in Annex II of its Notice of Action will remain in place if the measures resume, and to make those exemptions permanent.
The exemptions cover Chinese-built vessels entering continental US ports from voyages of less than 2,000 nautical miles, fully cellular container vessels with capacity of 4,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) or less, and other vessels with capacity of 55,000 deadweight tons or less. They also cover bulk carriers of 80,000 deadweight tons or less, and vessels arriving empty or in ballast.
The CPSO maintains that these provisions protect the short-sea liner services on which Caribbean trade with the United States depends.
Caricom comprises 15 member states, most of them islands or low-lying coastal territories. More than 90 per cent of the region’s goods trade moves by sea, with no road, rail or pipeline alternatives. The CPSO represents more than 6,250 firms across Caricom. It warned that the original fee proposal could have increased freight costs on Caribbean routes by 50 to 60 per cent, pushing up consumer prices and causing market losses for US and Caribbean producers.
Since the exemptions were adopted in April 2025, no liner service to a Caricom port has been withdrawn, and no surcharge has been imposed on Caribbean trade.
Two-way goods trade between the United States and Caricom reached US$30.1 billion in 2025. US exports totalled US$18.6 billion, an increase of 6.6 per cent over 2024, while imports from Caricom amounted to US$11.6 billion, leaving the United States with a US$7 billion trade surplus.
The exemptions also support disaster relief operations. Following Hurricane Melissa’s devastation, Jamaica received food, relief supplies and building materials from Florida using the same short-sea vessels covered by the provisions.
CPSO chief executive officer and technical director Dr Patrick Antoine called for the exemptions to be preserved.
“The exemptions have kept Caribbean shelves stocked, kept US goods competitive in their nearest export market, and spared hurricane-struck islands an added cost in their hour of need,” Antoine added.
