LOS ANGELES : An escalation of trade tensions between the U.S. and China, including President Donald Trump’s threat to punish Beijing with additional tariffs, could deal a severe blow to California’s ports and economy, potentially putting at risk thousands of jobs, according to experts.
They say the major California ports, which serve as a gateway to trade with China, have already been hit on the export side due to Beijing’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural and other products. For one, China represents about 60% of the trade volumes at the Port of Los Angeles, the busiest container port in the nation.
On Sunday, Trump tweeted he was prepared to increase tariffs from 10% to up to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese goods this week. In February, Trump announced he would delay an increase in Chinese tariffs, citing progress in talks — and then in early April the president indicated a deal was “very close.”
“On the export side, we’ve been hammered,” said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles. “We call for a negotiated settlement so we can get moving in the direction that we need to.”
Seroka said exports to China last year declined by about 25%, and as a region and port declined on exports to China by about 22%. He said cargo that goes through the port includes items not only produced in California but coming via rail from Midwestern states, including soybeans.
“We imported a heck of a lot more last year than we exported,” he said.
Besides food and agricultural items, Seroka said other sectors already hit by the trade war on the export side are electronic products, household goods and recyclables. He said many were down double-digit percentage levels in 2018 from the prior year.
