Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 5 p.m. Friday to add comment from Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. and Tropical Shipping CEO Tim Martin.
Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett has secured exemptions from punitive service fees and restrictions on shipping companies proposed by the Trump administration that would have exponentially skyrocketed the cost of goods for the Virgin Islands, her office announced Friday.
Plaskett secured the exemptions after speaking with and questioning U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer during a Ways and Means Committee hearing last week. He subsequently issued a Notice of Action late Thursday that exempts the Virgin Islands from aspects of the plan that would have had far-reaching economic consequences, the announcement said, including shipping delays and estimates of 50-60% increased shipping costs
However, the U.S. Virgin Islands falls within the 2,000-mile exemption (Annex II, Targeted Coverage, page 33) in the Notice of Action issued Thursday by USTR, it said. “Furthermore, transport operators with fleets comprised of Chinese-built vessels would have been charged up to $1.5 million per vessel entrance to an American port, as well as an ‘additional fee’ of up to $1 million per vessel entrance to an American port if the number of foreign-built vessels in the operator’s fleet is equal to or greater than 25 percent,” according to the announcement.
Even vessels under the U.S. flag, operated and owned by a U.S. entity that are Chinese-built, would have been subject to the fees in USTR’s proposal, it noted. “If the Proposed Action had been implemented, the unintended consequence would have been an increased presence of Chinese vessels and carriers transporting goods from sources outside of the United States — including China — within the United States’ third border, the Caribbean Basin,” it said.
Plaskett said she was grateful for the opportunity to speak with and question Greer during the Ways and Means Committee hearing, when she urged him to consider the practical impacts of tariff actions on the U.S. outlying areas and ultimately reconsider those actions.
“Our communities would have borne a tremendous undue cost, which made clear the need for an exemption. I also led a letter to USTR Ambassador Greer and the Administration, with Members of Congress from both the Atlantic and Pacific areas to make the case for an exemption for the territories and U.S.-owned companies and underscore the impact of these fees on the Virgin Islands, which would have permeated through the Caribbean region,” Plaskett said.
“USTR Ambassador Greer took my letter into serious consideration when making final arrangements of this action,” she said. Under the Notice of Action, exemptions apply to:
- U.S.-owned or U.S.-flagged vessels enrolled in the Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement, the Maritime Security Program, the Tanker Security Program, or the Cable Security Program;
- vessels arriving empty or in ballast;
- vessels with a capacity of equal to or less than: 4,000 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units, 55,000 deadweight tons, or an individual bulk capacity of 80,000 deadweight tons;
- vessels entering a U.S. port in the continental United States from a voyage of less than 2,000 nautical miles from a foreign port or point;
- U.S.-owned vessels, where the U.S. entity owning the vessel is controlled by U.S. persons and is at least 75 percent beneficially owned by U.S. persons;
- specialized or special purpose-built vessels for the transport of chemical substances in bulk liquid forms; and
- vessels principally identified as “Lakers Vessels” on CBP Form 1300, or its electronic equivalent.
Greer’s team highlighted Plaskett’s advocacy both in Committee and her letter, stating, “We note as a monumental achievement the critical work done by the Congresswoman and her team to bring together disparate communities who the federal government have historically pitted against one another.”
Plaskett also expressed gratitude to Greer’s team for reaching out to share the news with her before the public announcement and expressing the importance of the information her team shared.
“I thank my colleagues, USTR Ambassador Greer, elected officials, the maritime industry, and stakeholders, particularly Tropical Shipping and Jennifer Nugent-Hill, for their support to urge the Trump Administration to reconsider the Proposed Action,” said Plaskett. “I will continue to collaborate in a bipartisan manner with my colleagues, stakeholders, and the Virgin Islands community to advance the interests of the Virgin Islands. I believe that we can work with everyone while not compromising our values and beliefs and get things done. This achievement is an example of that.”
Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said in a statement Friday afternoon that the exemption “is the result of strong leadership, strategic engagement and sustained collaboration,” before going on to thank President Donald Trump, Greer “and the entire team at the USTR for hearing our case and recognizing the unique supply chain vulnerabilities” faced by the Virgin Islands.
“I also want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the maritime industry stakeholders who stood with us,” particularly Tim Martin and Nugent Hill of Tropical Shipping, along with the territory’s congressional partners including Plaskett, members of Congress who supported the efforts “and our outstanding lobbying team in Washington, D.C. Together, we ensured that Virgin Islanders were not left behind.”
Bryan emphasized that the exemption not only protects the Virgin Islands from unintended consequences but also preserves the territory’s role in supporting broader U.S. national security and logistical resilience throughout the Caribbean Basin.
“This decision recognizes the Virgin Islands’ strategic importance as America’s third border and affirms the value of having our voices heard in the halls of power,” Bryan said. “It underscores what we can achieve when the territory’s federal priorities are clearly communicated and forcefully advocated for through leadership, unity and collaboration.”
Martin also heralded the move, saying in a statement Friday afternoon that the proposed surcharges would have cost Tropical Shipping customers an additional $3,000 per 40-foot container load had they gone into effect.
“This is a huge victory for us and the entire Caribbean region that we serve,” said Martin. “Our voices were heard. We could not have accomplished this without the relentless advocacy from our Caribbean representatives in Washington, D.C., our customers, and the many organizations that wrote letters to the USTR describing the devastating multiplier effect these port fees would have had on all of us.”
