On 14 October 2026, the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) proposed its remedies against Spain, closing an investigation opened in December 2024 into what the Commission has now found to be refusals of port access to US-flag vessels carrying cargo to or from Israel: a USD 200,000 fee each time a Spanish-flagged vessel enters a US port from abroad, together with import restrictions amounting to an effective ban on goods falling within five entire chapters of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. For the trade practitioner, the significance of the proposal lies not in the fee, which the Commission itself concedes would reach few vessels and would not on its own address the conditions it identified, but in the cargo restrictions, which attach to the goods rather than to the flag and therefore reach carriers, shippers, and importers with no Spanish connection beyond the cargo concerned. Two features repay close attention: the scale, since the five chapters accounted for approximately USD 3.1 billion of imports in 2025, including some USD 837 million of olive oil and roughly 14% of Spain’s exports to the United States; and the absence of any provision for cargo already in transit, so that goods dispatched while the consultation remains open could arrive after restrictions have begun. This alert examines the statutory basis under section 19 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, the proposed remedies and the questions the draft leaves unresolved, and the 60-day comment period in which affected businesses may be heard. Read the full insight.
