2026 Export Agency Freight Responsibility Division, Full Details of Liable Parties Under Different Trade Terms

I previously coordinated with Manager Wu in Ningbo,whose business is exporting hardware tools to Germany.At the end of 2025,he signed an FOB Shanghai order,and thought that since the freight forwarder was designated by the client,all freight would be borne by the client.However,after the cargo entered the port,the designated freight forwarder charged him more than 20,000 yuan of THC and demurrage,and we finally intervened to help him recover the loss.Many foreign trade enterprises have encountered similar problems.In essence,who bears the freight in export agency business does not depend on which party appoints the freight forwarder,but on the stipulations of trade terms and the division of actual performance responsibilities.

Division of Freight Liable Parties Under Different Trade Terms

The INCOTERMS® 2020 rules applicable in 2026 have clear stipulations on freight responsibility under different trade terms.The following is the freight bearing rules corresponding to the 5 most commonly used terms in the foreign trade industry:

Freight Judgment Rules for Special Scenarios Prone to Disputes

Apart from the conventional stipulations of trade terms,the freight judgment for the following special scenarios is not clearly specified in general rules,and these are high-frequency dispute points in the industry:

• Extra charges from designated freight forwarders: Under FOB terms,if the freight forwarder is designated by the client,the domestic segment booking fee and THC are borne by the seller by default if there is no separate stipulation in the contract.The latest 2026 operation specification of Shanghai port clarifies that designated freight forwarders are prohibited from forcing sellers to pay extra fees other than the international segment commission and document fees that shall be borne by the buyer.You can appeal directly to the shipping company through your agency when encountering such situations.
• Detention and demurrage fees: Overdue fees caused by delayed goods preparation of the seller or abnormal customs declaration are borne by the seller,while those caused by delayed booking of the buyer or delayed customs clearance are borne by the buyer.The export agency can retain documents such as manifests,warehouse entry receipts and customs declaration release records in advance,as supporting evidence for dispute resolution.
• RCEP member states dedicated line freight: If you apply for RCEP certificate of origin to enjoy tariff reduction,and there is no separate stipulation on freight sharing in the contract,the cost preference generated by the generalized system of preferences belongs to the party that bears the freight by default,and can be directly deducted from the corresponding segment of freight expenditure.

Practical Pitfall Avoidance Reminder and Risk Warning

In the first quarter of 2026,we handled 37 export agency freight disputes,82% of which were caused by vague contract stipulations,leading to unnecessary extra cost pass-on.Three risk points must be avoided in advance:

The first is hidden surcharge pass-on risk.In 2026,the EU CBAM carbon fee,peak season surcharges on European and American routes,and low sulfur surcharges all belong to floating fees.If there is no clear stipulation on the liable party of these fees in the contract,the freight forwarder will most likely pass all these fees directly to the shipper,especially the designated freight forwarder under FOB terms,whose premium rate for such charges is usually above 30%.

The second is cargo ownership risk under EXW terms.For EXW ex works transactions,when the freight forwarder arranged by the buyer picks up the goods at the factory,you must sign the cargo ownership transfer document on site.Otherwise,if the freight forwarder defaults on the freight payable to the shipping company,the shipping company has the right to detain the goods.Even if the seller does not need to bear the freight,the delivery timeliness will be affected,and even collection risk will occur.

The third is multimodal transport transit fee risk.For multimodal transport orders to Central Asia and Southeast Asia,if the document exchange fee and operation fee at the transit port are not included in the contract,they are borne by the party arranging the logistics by default.In 2026,the transit fee at some ASEAN ports increased by 18% year on year.Many foreign trade enterprises failed to predict this in advance,and directly paid nearly ten thousand yuan of extra cost.

Our headquarters is located in Shanghai,and we can provide cross-port declaration services at 17 ports across China.We have cooperating customs broker teams in more than 130 countries around the world,who can help clients review the freight stipulations in trade terms in advance,predict the latest surcharge policies in destination countries,lock in logistics costs in advance and avoid hidden expenditure.

Suggestions for Export Agency Freight Optimization

If the enterprise has stable cargo volume,it is recommended to arrange logistics independently under CIF/CIP terms in priority,which is about 15% lower in cost than using the freight forwarder designated by the client.Meanwhile,you can control the cargo ownership throughout the whole process,and avoid the risk of unreasonable cargo detention by the designated freight forwarder.In 2026,there are special subsidies for the China-Europe Railway Express and ASEAN rail-sea combined transport space at Shanghai Port.Choosing these two transport modes for goods sent to Europe and Southeast Asia can save about 20% of freight compared with pure sea transport,and shorten the transit time by 7 to 10 days.

If you have to use FOB terms,you must explicitly list the liable party of all domestic segment costs in the contract,including the judgment rules for THC,customs declaration fee,trailer fee and demurrage.Retain all performance related documents in advance,so that you can present direct evidence in case of disputes and avoid unnecessary losses.If you are not sure about the rationality of the terms,you can also ask a professional agency to conduct compliance review in advance,so as to avoid risks from the source.