Posted on January 23, 2026
Dredgewire emphasizes that this is a very big story for the US maritime industry as it will channel more fees directly to maritime infrastructure including dredging.
Two Federal Maritime Commission commissioners confirmed Thursday that the Trump administration has begun implementing enforcement measures to close a decades-old tax loophole that allowed cargo routed through Canadian and Mexican ports to avoid U.S. Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT) fees.
In a joint statement, Commissioners Max Vekich and Laura DiBella said the effort marks a major shift in U.S. maritime trade enforcement, targeting what they described as a long-standing distortion of cargo flows and port competition.
“We commend the Administration for taking steps to close the land border loophole which poses a threat to the U.S. economy and maritime interests,” the commissioners said.
The move follows Section 6 of President Trump’s April 9, 2025 executive order, Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance, which directed the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to close a longstanding tax loophole by enforcing the collection of all applicable customs duties, taxes, and fees — including the Harbor Maintenance Tax — on foreign cargo entering the United States via land borders, along with a new 10 percent service fee to cover additional CBP processing costs.
The existing Harbor Maintenance Tax, set at 0.125% of a cargo’s commercial value, helps fund U.S. port and harbor maintenance. The policy aims to prevent shippers from bypassing U.S. port fees by routing cargo through Canadian or Mexican ports before trucking it into the United States.
For nearly two decades, that loophole has reshaped North American trade flows. According to the commissioners, Canadian ports — backed by heavy government investment — built far more capacity than required for domestic demand while aggressively targeting U.S.-bound cargo.
“Ports in Canada have been capturing market share at our nation’s expense for almost two decades,” they said.
A 2012 FMC study estimated that eliminating the tax disparity could shift as much as half of U.S.-bound container traffic from Canada’s West Coast ports back to American gateways. The same competitive dynamics have increasingly applied to Mexican ports as cross-border logistics networks expanded.
Vekich and DiBella warned that continued inaction risked accelerating the loss of U.S. port traffic, investment, and jobs — particularly as new terminal projects move forward north and south of the border.
“Implementation of Section 6 would eliminate the artificial cost advantage that is undermining our economy and helping to justify these projects,” they said, cautioning that further expansion in Canada and Mexico could ultimately lead to terminal closures at U.S. ports.
The commissioners said closing the loophole would directly benefit American workers and domestic port competitiveness.
“Doing so will staunch the bleeding of maritime jobs to Canada and Mexico and create new employment opportunities for U.S. longshore workers, truck drivers, and others, while providing the U.S. maritime industry a much-needed boost,” they said.
The White House has framed the policy as a fairness measure aimed at leveling the playing field for U.S. ports. A fact sheet said DHS is directed to “enforce collection of the Harbor Maintenance Fee on foreign cargo entering the United States to prevent circumvention via Canada or Mexico, putting an end to a longstanding unfair practice.”
The commissioners noted that their comments reflect their personal views and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Federal Maritime Commission.
