Pursuant to the Water Resources Development Act of 1986, U.S. Customs & Border Protection collects this fee for the Army Corp of Engineers for the improvement and maintenance of U.S. ports and harbors. The U.S. Harbor Maintenance Fee was imposed on export and import cargo via U.S. ports by Congress in 1985 to recover the costs of construction, maintenance and operation of U.S. deep-water commercial harbors. Under the HMF, U.S. shippers and importers have been assessed a fee of 0.125% of the value of cargo, FOB port of export, for most commercial shipments via most U.S. ocean ports.
« Back to Glossary Index