According to the operational risk theory and the background of the economic system during the transitional period in China, this paper makes use of the data of China’s manufacturing tariff and the financial statements of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2001 to 2008 to examine the import competition caused by tariff reduction after China’s accession to the WTO impact on audit fees. The results show that the import competition has a significant positive impact on audit fees, that is, the larger the import competition is, the higher the audit fees are. Moreover, if listed companies are state-owned enterprises and the industry concentration is high, the import competition has led to increased audit costs. In conclusion, based on the operational risk effect, listed companies have an impact on audit fees when facing import competition.