No ships from China have reached California's main ports since pandemic

No ships from China have reached California's main ports since pandemic

On Friday morning, the port authorities on the west coast CNN reported a remarkable sight: In the past 12 hours, no one -car freight ship China had left with goods for the two large western coast ports. This has not occurred since pandemic.

decline in cargo ship descents

effects of the trade war

The trade war under President Donald Trump led to massive tariffs last month on most imports from China. This has caused fewer ships to be at sea that transport less freight to the American ports. For many companies it has become too expensive to do business with China - one of the most important trading partners in the USA.

concern about the situation

The authorities are concerned, not only about the missing ships that leave China, but also about the speed at which this number has sunk. "This is a reason to worry," said Mario Cordero, the CEO of the port of Long Beach. "We are currently seeing numbers that go beyond what we have experienced during pandemic", with regard to cancellations and falling ship wave.

declines at the most important US ports

The country's busiest ports recorded drastic declines in the freight volume. The port of Long Beach has a decline of 35-40 % compared to the normal freight volume. The port of Los Angeles reported a decline of 31 %this week, and the port of New York and New Jersey is also preparing for a slowdown. On Wednesday, the port of Seattle said that he had no container ships in the port, another strange event that has not occurred since pandemic.

planned meeting of the sales representatives

US and Chinese sales representatives will meet in Geneva for their first personal meeting this weekend to try to defuse the trade war. Most of the goods that are shipped from China to the United States are subject to an inch of 145 %, while most US exports to China are occupied with an inch of 125 %. On Friday, President Donald Trump proposed to reduce the duty of China to 80 %, but pointed out that the final conditions would be left to the finance minister Scott better.

effects on consumers

For consumers who are faced with higher prices or bottlenecks on certain articles, Cordero says that a deal cannot come quickly enough. "If things don't change quickly, I talk about the uncertainty we are watching, then we could soon see empty shelves. This will affect consumers in the next 30 days," warned Cordero.

China's role in the US import market

Over 63 % of the freight that flows into the port of Long Beach comes from China-the largest proportion of all US ports. But this number has dropped compared to 72 % in 2016, since retailers try to turn away from China due to the ongoing trade conflicts.

The importance of trade agreements

Nevertheless, China remains an important source for imports to the United States. Maersk, the second largest shipping company in the world, said CNN that the freight volume between the United States and China has decreased by 30-40 % compared to normal. "If we do not start to see a relaxation of the situation with China, if we no longer see trade agreements, we could get into a situation in which some of these effects are intensified and disadvantageous," said Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc.

- Maisie Linford from CNN contributed to this report.