US imports rising ahead of trade battle!
Battle
at both front increase and
broaden
tariffs on China goods!
Tit-for-tat
tariff
punishes
only Americans!
With
retail sales rising and President Trump saying he plans to both increase and
broaden tariffs on goods from China, imports at the nation’s major retail
container ports are expected to see unusually high levels the remainder of this
spring and through the summer, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker
report released today by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett
Associates.
“Much
of this is driven by consumer demand but retailers are likely to resume
stocking up merchandise before new tariffs can take effect,” NRF Vice President
for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said.
“Tariff
increases and new tariffs will mean higher costs for U.S. businesses, higher
prices for American consumers and lost jobs for many American workers. We
encourage the administration to stay focused on a trade agreement, and we hope
the negotiations will get back on track. It would be unfortunate to undermine
the progress that has been made with more tit-for-tat tariffs that only punish
Americans.”
The
rush to bring merchandise into the country that was seen through much of last
year slowed down after Trump postponed a tariff hike from January to March and
then put it on hold indefinitely as trade talks with China showed signs of
progress.
But Trump said this week that 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion
worth of Chinese goods will rise to 25 percent on Friday, and that he plans to
impose new 25 percent tariffs on most remaining Chinese goods at an unspecified
date.
U.S.
ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 1.61 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent
Units in March, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are
available. That was down 0.6 percent from February but up 4.4 percent
year-over-year. A TEU is one 20-foot-long cargo container or its equivalent.
April
was estimated at 1.76 million TEU, up 7.7 percent year-over-year. May is
forecast at 1.9 million TEU, up 4.2 percent; June at 1.92 million TEU, up 3.7
percent; July at 1.96 million TEU, up 3 percent; August at 1.98 million TEU, up
4.6 percent, and September at 1.91 million, up 2 percent. Imports have never
before hit the 1.9 million TEU mark earlier than July. And the August number
would be the highest monthly total since the record 2 million TEU record set
last October.
Imports
during 2018 set a record of 21.8 million TEU, an increase of 6.2 percent over
2017’s previous record of 20.5 million TEU. The first half of 2019 is expected
to total 10.7 million TEU, up 3.9 percent over the first half of 2018.
“Consumption
is facing the potential of increased tariffs on Chinese imports if President
Trump’s tweets are anything to go by,” Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett
said. “One can only hope that this is a simple negotiating tactic that will run
out of steam.”
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