NEW YORK, Sept 23, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – America’s ports are fearful that they
will be big losers as the escalating trade fight between Washington and
Beijing bites into business.
The anxiety is that tit-for-tat tariffs between the two economic
superpowers will crimp shipments, denting port revenues.
Kurt Nagle, head of the American Association of Port Authorities, called
the state of play “concerning,” following the latest back-and-forth this week
between the United States and China.
“The total amount of tariffs and international retaliation affect 10
percent of the total trade in American ports,” or about $160 billion in
revenues, Nagle said.
The various trade wars thus far have had a mixed effect, with some ports
seeing sharp declines in some products, even as others report a surge in
activity intended to beat the new levies.
The mammoth US economy is sustained by about 100 ports around the country
that manage the flow of goods inward and outbound at points of embarkation
along the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico and the Great
Lakes.
In the first six months of 2018, the port of New Orleans saw a drop of
350,000 tons of steel compared with the year-ago period, a big hit for a
flagship product that is used in a petroleum-focused region.
“It represents between three and five million dollars,” said Robert
Landry, vice president of the Port of New Orleans. “For us it’s very big.”
Major sources of the steel include Turkey, China and South Korea. All but
South Korea were affected by a 25 percent tariff on steel imposed by US
President Donald Trump this spring.
The New Orleans port also suffered a 10 percent drop in aluminum imports,
which was also included in the same tariff action, while retaliatory Chinese
tariffs on poultry have hit those exports.
– Los Angeles surge –
Meanwhile, with new tariffs looming in the US-China standoff, the Port of
Los Angeles has seen a surge in some products.
“In May, June and July, cargo owners tried to beat the volumes,” said
Phillip Sanfield, a spokesman for the port, for which China is a key market,
accounting last year for about half its trade in total value.
But the acceleration earlier this year may not last after the United
States this week announced tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, a
move quickly followed by the Chinese rebuttal to impose levies on $60 billion
in US goods.
Trade war fears are also a source of unease for port workers, particularly
in areas like southern California where the ports of Los Angeles and Long
Beach account for one in nine jobs. There are about three million port
workers nationwide.
But that angst extends to other regions.
“The East Coast ports in New York, New Jersey, Georgia and Virginia will
also be very affected,” Sanfield said.
The trade war has also worried the maritime shipping industry, which deals
in $4.6 trillion worth of goods annually, employs 23 million people and pays
$320 billion in taxes each year, according to the AAPA.
Landry of the New Orleans port said he was “optimistic” of an eventual
solution.
“I just don’t know how long it’s gonna take,” he said.
“We can probably take another six months, but at some point it’s going to
be very hard to face the situation.”