A race to bring goods into the US before more tariffs on Chinese goods kick in is helping to fuel an earlier-than-usual peak season at West Coast ports.
That import frenzy is adding to a capacity crunch on Pacific trade lanes caused mainly by shipping lines avoiding attacks by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and contributing to elevated freight charges.
“Rates are higher than they’ve been for us in well over two years,” said Matt Priest, president of the Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America. Even though some of the Biden administration’s new tariffs don’t impact the shoe industry directly, “we think there’s been a run on capacity there to get product in before those tariffs take effect” on Aug. 1.
“And then there’s the whole question about if the former president wins election in November,” Priest said. The Trump campaign’s proposal to hike tariffs, especially on Chinese goods, is driving a lot of FDRA members to consider bringing product in prior to those potential decisions to push duties up, he said.
Priest joined Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka at a briefing on Wednesday, where they fielded questions about turmoil across global shipping lanes and the uncertainty surrounding tariffs.
Read More: Port of LA Container Volumes Up 14% on Strong Trade Activity
If Trump wins and a universal 10% tariff on imports and 60% on Chinese goods both take effect, “that could change the landscape, the future of the Port of LA,” Seroka said. But since then-President Trump first imposed tariffs in 2018, “we've shown to be pretty nimble, and we’ve certainly been out there hustling for cargo.”
Ultimately, Priest said he’d encourage either Trump or Joe Biden to separate the footwear industry from other industries “critical” to China and stress that tariffs are paid by consumers.
“We understand that there’s kind of a rise in consideration of the utility of tariffs, but we’re also the poster child of how tariffs did not keep domestic production in place,” Priest said, adding that the footwear industry pays $4 billion a year in tariffs and still imports 99% of its shoes.
”The fact of the matter is, any cost that’s added at the border on a good is going to drive up the cost to consumers,” Priest said.
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-07-18/supply-chain-latest-new-us-tariffs-and-port-volumes
𝐀𝐋𝐒 – 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬
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