The Port Newark Container Terminal was going full-out on Wednesday after President Trump’s punishing tariffs kicked in, with cranes working to unload one ship after one other — as shippers, retailers and importers braced for the stiff new duties to be levied on the subsequent load of cargo from abroad.
“It’s like the storm before the calm,” mentioned Danny Sanchez, proprietor of Falcon Messenger Service, a small trucking firm primarily based in Union, NJ. “Everybody is playing the waiting game.”
He mentioned they’ve seen a giant uptick in work because the commerce battle has heated up, however mentioned he fears a steep drop-off in a month or two as soon as the total impact of the tariffs begin to hit People shoppers.
Even after Trump introduced Wednesday that he was pausing his “reciprocal” tariff scheme for 90 days, native shippers and importers remained on edge over the hit they’re prone to take.
“Every business wants certainty, and there is no certainty,” Michael Shoule, Vice President of JW Hampton Jr. & Co., a 160-year previous logistics firm in Jamaica, Queens, informed The Publish.
He known as the pause “a step in the right direction,” however mentioned it remained to be seen how the whole lot would shake out.
Trump’s new order Wednesday will elevate tariffs on items from China even greater — to 125% over the “lack of respect” from Beijing. A ten% worldwide tariff can also be nonetheless going into impact.
America buys extra from China than every other nation on this planet, besides Mexico — to the tune of practically $440 billion in 2024. All types of client items come from China — together with electronics like iPhone, toys, garments and footwear.
Shoule mentioned even when the proceeds from the newly imposed tariffs go to decrease taxes, costs are nonetheless prone to go up “on everything we buy in the US,” and that it’s no shock given People’ insatiable urge for food for affordable abroad items.
Final yr, the commerce deficit was $1.2 trillion — and $295 billion with China alone.
“We’ve made our own beds as Americans to a certain extent with as much as we insist upon having the lowest prices possible, whether it be Amazon, Walmart or Target. So it’s been a long time coming,” he mentioned.
“Not to say we’ve been getting totally abused by these different countries, but there were some situations we could have advocated for ourselves better over the years and now there’s drastic measures being taken because the imbalance is so bad.”
Shoule’s JW Hampton Jr. & Co. imports a variety of products, together with home made rugs from China and Nepal, copper bars from Peru, chemical compounds and prescribed drugs from India and clothes from Vietnam.
He mentioned it’s no shock that Trump has come out swinging with imposing the brand new duties, given how he’s touted tariffs courting again to his 1987 bestselling e book, “The Art of the Deal.”
“He’s been saying for 30-40 years that you need shock and awe to bring people to the table. Now he’s shocked and awed people, so now let’s see who comes to the table.”
As for who he expects to really feel the ache, he mentioned cargo firms and cargo airways bringing items into the US would be the first impacted by the tariffs as importers put the brakes on putting new orders whereas they wait and see how the commerce battle performs out.
“Factories are holding all these goods and not shipping, eventually they’ll ship them but in the meantime they’re probably not doing a lot of production for the US. Who’s gonna place orders if they’ve already got goods over there?”
Subsequent as much as really feel the tariff ache would be the truckers, Shoule mentioned, “less shipments coming in means less business for them — and they employ a lot of people,” he mentioned.
Sanchez mentioned certainly one of his largest fears is a return to a pandemic-era bottoming out of charges for freight if the quantity of imports drops dramatically.
That may put his smaller firm at a drawback in comparison with large-scale companies that might make up for the lack of income on quantity.
“There are thousands of truckers here, so you have to be competitive. If rates drop, owner-operators won’t want to move the freight because it’s not worth it for them. A job that used to pay $600 now is gonna give them maybe $400 — it’s a big drop,” he mentioned.
“Everybody’s nervous because we just got back on our feet and it looks like we’re gonna be going back down again.”
He mentioned some truckers have informed him if charges plummet like they did throughout COVID they might contemplate leaving the trade altogether.
“Truckers that have been doing this for over 15 years, this is all they know. For them to say they might just find another profession is not as easy as they think it’s gonna be,” he mentioned.
Sanchez mentioned it was “great” to see Trump put the duties on pause, however mentioned it was “ludicrous” to extend the Chinese language tariffs to 125%.
“I don’t even know how it’s going to happen,” he mentioned. “That’s a big deal for us.”
On Wednesday, The Publish approached a number of rank-and-file members of the Worldwide Longshoremen’s Union (ILA) — whose president, Harold Daggett, has been an outspoken supporter of Trump — however they’re maintaining mum on tariffs for now.
Further reporting by Kevin Sheehan.
