Automakers Face $200-$300 Per Vehicle Port Fee Hit Despite Trump-Xi Trade Truce

Automakers shipping vehicles to the United States could face $200 to $300 per vehicle in additional costs, the CEO of major car carrier Wallenius Wilhelmsen warned Wednesday, as the company moves to pass new U.S. port fees onto customers. The announcement comes despite a late-October trade agreement between Presidents Trump and Xi that was supposed to ease shipping tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen CEO Lasse Kristoffersen told Reuters the company has no choice but to shift the burden of unexpectedly high port fees to automakers.

“We’re clear that this bill is an additional cost we’ve been given and that we need to pass on to our customers,” Kristoffersen said.

The timing couldn’t be worse for car buyers and the EV industry. These shipping cost increases arrive just five weeks after federal EV tax credits expired on September 30, eliminating $7,500 in consumer savings. Now automakers face another potential price increase that will likely get passed directly to showroom sticker prices.

Port Fee Shock Disrupts Auto Industry

Higher-than-expected U.S. port fees on foreign-built ships took effect on October 14 as part of an ongoing trade dispute between China and the United States. The U.S. Trade Representative modified Section 301 regulations to increase fees for roll-on/roll-off carriers from $14 per net ton to $46 per net ton—a 228% jump that caught the shipping industry off guard.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen, which operates specialized “roll-on/roll-off” carriers that ship cars and heavy machinery worldwide, was forced to withdraw its financial outlook for 2025 immediately after the fee announcement. The Norwegian shipping giant warned that its fourth-quarter cost exposure could reach approximately $100 million before mitigation measures and customer compensation.

The company’s third-quarter earnings call revealed Q3 results escaped the port fee impact, but executives made clear the fourth quarter faces significant financial headwinds.

CEO Kristoffersen emphasized the company’s resilience, stating “We are global infrastructure. Whatever happens in the world hits us. The good news is, whatever happens in the world, we are able to manage.”

Trump-Xi Agreement Leaves Critical Gap

A late-October agreement between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping granted a 12-month reprieve from tit-for-tat fees on ships docking at each other’s ports. The October 30 summit in South Korea produced what both sides characterized as a breakthrough deal that suspended reciprocal port fees and reduced overall tariff rates.

But Wallenius Wilhelmsen said Wednesday it remains unclear whether the suspension actually covers port fees for roll-on/roll-off carriers. “It was still unclear whether the suspension covers port fees for roll-on/roll-off carriers,” the company stated, highlighting a potentially costly ambiguity in the trade agreement.

The Trump-Xi deal suspended U.S. implementation of “responsive actions taken pursuant to the Section 301 investigation on China’s Targeting the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance” for one year starting November 10, according to a White House fact sheet. However, the specific October 14 port fee increases may not fall under this suspension.

Financial Impact Ripples Through Supply Chain

Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s warning adds another layer of cost pressure on an auto industry already struggling with tariff impacts and slowing EV demand. The company estimates annual port fee exposure ranging from $350 million to $400 million, though executives emphasized they’re working with customers to recover costs through negotiated rate adjustments.

The $200-$300 per vehicle cost increase will hit both electric and conventional vehicles, but represents a particularly sharp blow to EV affordability at a critical moment. With base prices for many EVs already higher than gas-powered equivalents, any additional cost could push budget-conscious buyers toward traditional vehicles.

For context, that $200-$300 shipping fee increase represents roughly 0.5% to 1% of a $40,000 vehicle’s sticker price. While seemingly modest, it compounds other cost pressures including raw material expenses, battery costs, and existing tariff burdens that automakers are already struggling to absorb.

Roll-On/Roll-Off Carriers Face Unique Targeting

The port fee structure appears to specifically target foreign-built car carriers, with most of the global fleet subject to the higher rates. According to industry reports, non-U.S.-built car carriers—which encompass virtually the entire fleet save one vessel—now face what some industry players have called “arbitrary” fee structures.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen argued the fees exceed the U.S. Trade Representative’s authority under Section 301 by penalizing carriers built in countries not implicated in reported trade violations. The company has been pushing Washington to reconsider the measures, though with limited success so far.

The shipping giant maintains a constructive dialogue with customers and remains optimistic about resolving fee uncertainties. CFO Bjørnar Bukholm told analysts “We are not changing our financial strategy because of the USTR port fees,” signaling confidence the company can weather the regulatory storm.

EVXL’s Take

This port fee mess perfectly illustrates how trade wars create collateral damage far beyond their intended targets. While Trump and Xi shook hands and declared victory on their October 30 trade deal, the fine print left gaping holes that will cost American car buyers hundreds of dollars per vehicle—whether they’re buying EVs or gas guzzlers.

Let’s connect this to the bigger picture EVXL has been tracking. Back in June, we reported that auto tariffs would raise car prices by nearly $2,000, with AlixPartners estimating automakers would pass along 80% of tariff costs to consumers. Now add $200-$300 in shipping fees on top of that. Then remember that federal EV tax credits expired on September 30, taking another $7,500 off the table for EV buyers.

Do the math: A buyer looking at a $40,000 EV in early September had access to a $7,500 tax credit, bringing the effective price to $32,500. That same buyer today faces the full $40,000 price tag, plus potentially $2,000 in tariff pass-through costs, plus $200-$300 in new shipping fees. We’re talking about a $10,000 swing in two months—a 30% effective price increase that makes EVs dramatically less competitive with gas vehicles.

The timing is particularly brutal for foreign automakers heavily reliant on ocean shipping. Think Hyundai and Kia importing EVs from South Korea, Volkswagen shipping from Germany, or BMW and Mercedes bringing vehicles across the Atlantic. These manufacturers already absorbed massive tariff hits earlier this year—remember when we covered Volvo’s CEO warning that tariffs could make the EX30 “almost impossible” to sell in the U.S. after its price jumped from $35,000 to $46,195? Now add another $300 in shipping costs on top.

Here’s the cruel irony: These protectionist measures are supposed to shield American automakers from foreign competition. Instead, they’re making imported EVs prohibitively expensive while doing nothing to help domestic manufacturers compete on technology or price. Chinese EVs are now nearly as affordable as gas cars in their home market, while American buyers face an ever-growing stack of fees, tariffs, and regulatory costs that apply primarily to the foreign EVs that were actually price-competitive.

The Wallenius Wilhelmsen situation also highlights how quickly “trade victories” can unravel. The Trump-Xi agreement made headlines for suspending ship port fees for 12 months, but apparently nobody bothered to clarify whether that suspension actually covers the specialized roll-on/roll-off carriers that transport virtually all imported vehicles. That’s not a minor oversight—it’s a $100 million quarterly problem for Wallenius alone, multiplied across every automaker importing vehicles to U.S. ports.

For EV buyers specifically, this represents another blow to the affordability equation that was supposed to drive mass adoption. The port fees hit hardest on imported EVs from South Korea, Europe, and Japan—precisely the manufacturers offering compelling alternatives to Tesla’s aging lineup.

Between expired tax credits, rising tariff costs, increased shipping fees, and automakers’ struggles to achieve production economies of scale, the U.S. electric vehicle market faces a perfect storm of price pressures. Don’t be surprised if EV sales forecasts continue dropping—AlixPartners already slashed its 2030 projection from 31% to just 17% of auto sales, and that was before these latest shipping cost increases.

What do you think? Are these port fees just another example of trade policy hurting American consumers more than foreign competitors? Share your thoughts in the comments below.