Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election is ‘a step in the wrong direction’ for international trade, as importers fear another spike in ocean container shipping freight rates.
Trump has vowed blanket tariffs of up to 20% on all imports into the U.S. and additional tariffs of 60% to 100% on goods from China.
Data from Xeneta – the ocean and air freight intelligence platform – shows the last time Trump ramped up tariffs on Chinese imports during the trade war in 2018, ocean container shipping freight rates spiked more than 70%.
Peter Sand, Xeneta Chief Analyst, said: “Shipping is a global industry feeding on international trade, so another Trump presidency is a step in the wrong direction.
“The knee-jerk reaction from U.S. shippers will be to frontload imports before Trump is able to impose his new tariffs. Back in 2018, the tariff on Chinese imports was 25%, now it is increasing up to 100% so the incentive to frontload is even greater.
“If you have warehouse space and the goods to ship, frontloading imports is the simplest way to manage this risk in the short term – but it will bring its own problems. A sudden increase in demand on major trade lanes into the U.S. when ocean supply chains are already under pressure due to disruption in the Red Sea will place upward pressure on freight rates.
Read more in an article from the American Journal of Transportation.