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The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission has formally proposed charging $200,000 each time a Spanish-flagged vessel enters a U.S. port from a foreign port or place, alongside potential restrictions covering roughly $3.13 billion of Spanish goods based on 2025 trade values. The action follows a two-year investigation in which the FMC concluded that Spain created unfavorable conditions for U.S. shipping by denying port access to three U.S.-flagged Maritime Security Program vessels in November 2024. The measures are not yet in force: the proposed rule was published October 15 and remains open for public comment through December 14, 2026.
Federal Maritime Commission · October 2026
A Port-Access Dispute Is Moving Toward Vessel Fees and Cargo Restrictions
The proposed remedy goes well beyond penalizing the three vessels involved in the original dispute. It targets Spanish-flag shipping entering the United States and potentially entire categories of Spanish exports.
Proposed Spanish-Vessel Charge
$200K
each U.S. entry from a foreign port
The fee applies to vessels registered under the Spanish flag. The FMC says relatively few Spanish-flagged vessels currently call at U.S. ports.
The larger economic lever may be cargo
~$3.13B
2025 value across five proposed HTS chapters
Oils and fats, cosmetics and perfumery, ceramics, stone products, and sugar and confectionery are all named in the proposed rule. The Commission can ultimately adopt a narrower combination.
Status
Proposed
Neither the $200,000 vessel fee nor the import restrictions are currently in force.
Comment Deadline
Dec. 14
Public comments are open for 60 days following Federal Register publication.
U.S.-Flag Ships at Center
3
Maersk Seletar, Maersk Denver and Maersk Hartford.
Investigation Began
Dec. 2024
The proceeding began nearly two years before the current remedy proposal.
How a November 2024 port refusal became a trade-action proposal
May 2024
Spain Begins Blocking Calls
Spain publicly refuses entry to Marianne Danica and announces restrictions involving military cargo for Israel.
→
Nov. 2024
Three U.S.-Flag MSP Ships Affected
Seletar, Denver and Hartford do not make planned Spanish calls and reroute toward Morocco.
→
2025-26
FMC Investigation Deepens
More than 8,000 initial comments are received and the FMC obtains additional sworn information.
→
Oct. 2026
Fees + Import Limits Proposed
The Commission concludes that Spain created unfavorable conditions for U.S. foreign shipping.
Maersk Line Limited Calls in Spain
7.25 / month
FMC-calculated average before the November 2024 dispute. The U.S.-flag MLL fleet has recorded only six Spanish calls during 2026 in the FMC's latest analysis.
Tangier Calls After Shift
4.17 / month
The Commission says Moroccan calls replaced much of the former U.S.-flag traffic through Algeciras.
Proposed Spanish Import Restrictions
The Cargo Measure Could Reach Far Beyond Spanish-Flagged Ships
The proposed rule defines covered goods by Spanish origin, not by the vessel's flag. A non-Spanish carrier bringing restricted Spanish cargo into the United States could therefore become part of the enforcement mechanism.
Named Import Categories
5
Entire two-digit HTS chapters are listed as possible restrictions.
Approx. 2025 Value
$3.13B
Combined value of the five chapters using the FMC's reported 2025 figures.
Share of All Spanish Goods Imports
~14.7%
Derived against $21.35 billion of total U.S. goods imports from Spain in 2025.
| HTS Chapter | Category | 2025 U.S. Imports From Spain | Important Subcategory | Subcategory Value | Scope Under Proposal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Oils & Fats | $1.15B | Olive oil | $836.9M | FMC proposes authority to limit all goods in Chapter 15. |
| 33 | Perfumery & Cosmetics | ~$940M | Perfumes & toilet waters | ~$700M | Potential restriction across the entire Chapter 33 category. |
| 69 | Ceramics | $634.7M | Ceramic tiles / mosaic cubes | $523.7M | All Chapter 69 ceramic products could be covered. |
| 68 | Articles of Stone | $270.6M | Stone, plaster, cement products | $176.9M | Broad Chapter 68 restriction is among the options. |
| 17 | Sugar & Confectionery | $138.8M | Sugar confectionery / white chocolate | Majority of category | All Chapter 17 goods are included in the proposed list. |
Spanish Vessel
$200K Per Entry
Fee applies when a Spanish vessel enters a U.S. port from a foreign port or place.
Fee Not Paid
Clearance Could Be Refused
FMC could ask Homeland Security to refuse clearance to that vessel or another Spanish vessel.
Covered Spanish Goods
Any Vessel Flag
Cargo restrictions follow the goods, so foreign carriers transporting Spanish cargo could be affected.
Cargo Offloaded
Reloading Could Be Required
The proposed text permits refusal of vessel clearance until prohibited covered goods are loaded back aboard.
Deliberately Not Targeted
Retail Medicines
The FMC notes that Spanish retail-medicine imports exceed $1 billion in one six-digit HTS category but excludes them from the proposed restrictions because of U.S. health considerations.
Deliberately Not Targeted
Static Converters & Transformers
Another Spanish import category above $1 billion is omitted because the United States is already facing a transformer shortage.
The proposal contains an escalation clause.
If the FMC finds that Spain retaliates against U.S. carriers or shippers through discriminatory charges, restrictions, service disruptions or further port denials, the proposed rule says the Spanish-vessel fee would be increased and additional HTS chapters would be added based on the economic harm.
Ship Universe Spain-U.S. Trade Exposure Tool
Vessel Fee & Import Restriction Scenario Model
Model the possible annual shipping cost of a Spanish-flag fee and the trade value exposed under different levels of import restriction. The proposal remains subject to public comment and could change substantially before any final rule.
entries
User-entered scenario. The FMC says relatively few Spanish-flagged vessels call at U.S. ports but does not provide a total annual call count in the proposal.
USD
$B/year
Default is the approximate sum of the five 2025 HTS chapter values identified by the FMC.
%
% of affected trade
Illustrative commercial-friction assumption only. It can represent rerouting, replacement sourcing, handling or other indirect costs.
$B
Annual Spanish-Vessel Fee Exposure
$5.0M
entered U.S. arrivals multiplied by entered per-entry fee
Spanish Trade Potentially Restricted
$1.57B
listed trade value multiplied by the selected restriction share
Modeled Supply-Chain Friction
$125M
illustrative indirect cost using the user-entered friction percentage
Share of All Spanish Imports Affected
affected listed trade relative to total entered U.S. goods imports
Combined Modeled Commercial Cost
$130M
vessel fee exposure plus modeled supply-chain friction
Fee Per Monthly Entry Equivalent
$417K
annual modeled fee spread across 12 months
Shipping Fee vs Cargo Exposure
Because few Spanish-flagged ships currently call U.S. ports, the cargo restrictions could become the larger economic instrument even though the $200,000 vessel fee receives most of the attention.
Selected Scenario
Partial Import Restrictions
The FMC expressly says it could choose a narrower remedy than blocking every listed category. The final economic impact therefore depends much more on which HTS chapters and subcategories are ultimately restricted than on the headline vessel fee alone.
Entries
25
Fee
$200K
Cargo Case
50%
Trade Pool
$3.13B
Scenario only:
The FMC has not published an annual Spanish-flag U.S. port-call count in this proposed rule and has not selected a final import restriction percentage. The commercial-friction percentage is a user assumption, not an FMC estimate. The proposal could be narrowed, expanded or abandoned following comments, a Spanish hearing request or a diplomatic settlement.
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