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US import policy on China goods has moved more in the past three years than in the twenty before it. Section 301 rates, the treatment of low-value shipments, forced labour enforcement, and CBP's appetite for detaining first and asking later all stack on the same consignment. For a seller shipping direct to consumer or into FBA, the difference between a compliant entry and a detained one is usually documentation you could have prepared in advance. This tag follows rate and threshold changes, enforcement posture, and the filing requirements that come with them. We are interested in what it costs you per unit and what it does to your transit reliability. Policy risk on this lane is now a permanent line item, and pretending otherwise is how sellers end up with stock sitting in a bonded warehouse.
Three US House committee chairs want the Coast Guard to revoke special inspection privileges for Cosco vessels over espionage claims.
China recorded a $133.5 billion trade surplus in September 2026, putting the full-year figure on track to beat 2025's record $1.19 trillion.
US container imports hit a record 2,546,261 TEU in September 2026, with China-origin volume up 4.5% month on month to 924,454 TEU.
ImportGenius found a $100 billion difference between China’s reported exports to the US and US recorded imports in 2025, suggesting transshipment or value manipulation.
COSCO delayed payment of a $24,328 FMC reparations award for 223 days, prompting a show cause order with potential penalties up to $16.7 million.
China to US spot rates peaked 1 October at $8,346 USWC and $11,523 USEC, forecast to fall to $4,500-5,500 and $6,000-7,000 by year-end.
Washington and Beijing extended their trade truce past 10 November, and Asia-US West Coast spot rates reached $8,400 per FEU, a new high for 2026.
The US-China Board of Trade recommended reduced tariffs on $30bn of goods each way, covering fireworks and Christmas ornaments but excluding most consumer categories.
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Asia-Europe spot rates rose 6% to 7% this week, ending a three-month decline. US political pressure on Cosco could lead to slower port processing for their vessels.
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China to North Europe air rates fell 7% last week while transpacific air rose 3%, so your lane choice now decides your margin. The EU’s abolished €150 customs exemption is showing up in the data, with China and Hong Kong imports at Frankfurt down 1.8% and 7.4% in September. China’s September trade surplus hit $133.5 billion, which keeps tariff pressure from Brussels and Washington running hot into 2027 contract season.
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US container imports hit a record 2,546,261 TEU in September, with China-origin volume up 4.5% on August to 924,454 TEU, so demand on your lane is strong even as spot rates to Europe fall by a third or more since July. Tender season favours you right now: carriers are cutting long-term deals and even forwarders are getting better rates. If you ship to FBA, Amazon’s two new China to US air options give you a 7 to 15 day replenishment window with no inbound placement fee.
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A $100 billion gap between what China reports shipping to the US and what US Customs records receiving points to transshipment, mis-invoicing or both. The Arctic route carried 14,000 TEU this summer with half the transit time of Suez, dominated by high-value cargo. COSCO faces a potential $16.7 million penalty for ignoring an FMC order for 223 days.
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Spot rates from China to the US reached their 2026 peak on 1 October and will decline through year-end, but Xeneta forecasts floor prices of $6,000-7,000 to USEC and $4,500-5,500 to USWC, not a collapse. If you locked long-term contracts below those levels, you won the year. If you are riding spot into Q4, budget for those ranges and expect your margin to compress accordingly.
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The US-China trade truce now runs past 10 November and trans-Pacific spot rates hit a 2026 high of $8,400 per FEU to the West Coast, so book your Q4 space before Golden Week ends rather than after. The Hormuz closure is approaching its eighth month and looks set to permanently strip transhipment traffic from Jebel Ali and Khalifa. In the air, hi-tech freight at 3m tonnes has overtaken Chinese ecommerce as the main growth engine, which means more competition for the capacity you rely on.
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Asia-Europe spot rates fell 4% last week to $3,485 per 40-foot container on Shanghai-Rotterdam, and carriers responded by announcing October rate hikes starting 19 October. Transpacific rates moved the opposite direction, climbing 5% as capacity tightens. The US-China tariff relief list covers $30bn of goods each way but excludes most of what ecommerce sellers move.
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China and the US announced tariff cuts on $30bn of goods each, covering 1,696 product lines, but the deal lands too late to change weakening transpac rates and does not touch the port fees on Chinese-built and Chinese-operated vessels, which restart 10 November unless USTR acts. Soybeans remain subject to an additional 10% tariff in China, and the whole deal still requires domestic legal procedures before it takes effect.
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The Trump administration extended its suspension of port fees on Chinese-built vessels until 10 January 2027, giving you two months of breathing room before shipping costs rise again. Transpacific spot rates hit $11,445 per FEU to the US east coast this week and analysts expect another uptick in early October before Golden Week capacity comes back.
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Chinese ports handled a record 7.3 million TEU in the week ending 20 September, 9% above last year and accelerating from 6% earlier this month. The surge preceded the Trump-Xi summit and appears driven by exporters rushing goods ahead of possible tariff increases. If you have Q4 inventory in a factory right now, you are not alone and the freight schedule reflects that.
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A defence cargo control failure shows how easily chain of custody breaks in mixed commercial networks. Transpac container rates are set to hold through the off-season because Panama Canal cuts and port congestion still choke effective capacity. China’s LPG buyers are back to pre-trade-war volumes by splitting cargoes to defer duty, a tactic worth watching if Section 301 rates climb again.
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CMA CGM removed Hong Kong from its CIMEX1 service this week, forcing shippers to reroute through Shenzhen or Nansha. The US and China are discussing tariff cuts on $30 billion of goods ahead of Xi Jinping’s Washington visit on 24 September, which could signal wider trade relief if it lands.
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Container spot rates from China to the US East Coast reached $11,259 per FEU on 17 September, just 11% below the pandemic record set in January 2022. FedEx adds demand surcharges on China imports starting 21 September, with per-pound fees climbing to $0.91 on express services. If you have stock on the water, your landed cost just changed again.
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COSCO Shipping ordered 18 containerships worth $3 billion with deliveries starting 2028, which will add 283,000 TEU to capacity on your lanes. The same week, two US officials accused COSCO of using concealed equipment aboard vessels to collect military communications, which COSCO denies. Neither story changes what you do Monday morning, but the first one tells you capacity will stay loose through the end of the decade, and the second one adds political noise to an already complicated relationship with the world’s third-largest carrier.
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Typhoon Saudel reformed yesterday over the South China Sea after hitting Zhejiang on Friday, and now threatens airports from Guangzhou to Hong Kong with three days of heavy rain. No mass cancellations yet, but VariFlight lists eight airports at risk including Shenzhen Baoan and Guangzhou Baiyun. If you have air freight moving this week, check with your forwarder this morning.
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