No cargo ships leaving China for the West Coast ports in the past 12 hours.
41 Scheduled, Zero Leaving
For the first time since the pandemic, No Cargo Ships Leaving China for the US.
Six days ago, 41 vessels were scheduled to depart China for the San Pedro Bay Complex, which encompasses both the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach in California. On Friday, it was zero.
President Donald Trump’s trade war imposed massive tariffs on most Chinese imports last month. That’s led to fewer ships at sea carrying less cargo to America’s ports. For many businesses, it is now too expensive to do business with China, one of America’s most important trading partners.
Officials are concerned not just about the lack of vessels leaving China, but the speed at which that number dropped.
“That’s cause for alarm,” said Mario Cordero, the CEO of the Port of Long Beach. “We are now seeing numbers in excess of what we witnessed in the pandemic” for cancellations and fewer vessel arrivals.
The busiest ports in the country are experiencing steep declines in cargo. The Port of Long Beach is seeing a 35-40% drop compared to normal cargo volume. The Port of Los Angeles had a 31% drop in volume this week, and the Port of New York and Jersey says it’s also bracing for a slowdown. On Wednesday, the Port of Seattle said it had zero container ships in the port, another anomaly that hasn’t happened since the pandemic.
“That’s because just nothing is being shipped over,” port commissioner Ryan Calkins told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
“If things don’t change quickly, I’m talking about the uncertainty that we’re seeing, then we may be seeing empty products on the shelves. This is now going to be felt by the consumer in the coming 30 days,” said Cordero.
“If we don’t start to see a de-escalation of the situation with China, if we don’t start to see more of those trade deals, then we could be in a situation where some of these effects get more entrenched and are more adverse,” said Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc.
The CNN Post is an Exaggeration
Traffic is really down 25 to 35 percent, so far.
But it’s early. Here is some simple math as to how bad it could get.
What’s the Math?
- Nothing * Anything = Nothing
- No Trade Deficit.
- No Tariffs Collected.
No tariffs will be collected from China US citizens on goods from China.
But look at the bright side. If this continued, the US trade deficit with China will head to zero.
Side Impacts
- Chinese merchants will not buy anything from the US either.
- Thousands of US small businesses dependent on China and unable to easily fix supply chains will go out of business.
- Negative impact to US, China, and global GDP
- Negative impacts to job growth
- Potential stagflationary price shock
What Do We Call This?
Winning!
100 Percent Tariffs on Barbie Dolls
Please note Trump Threatens 100 Percent Tariffs on Mattel and Barbie Dolls
“I’ve heard [Mattel] said: ‘Well we’re going to go counter, we’re going to try going someplace else,’ ” Trump said in the Oval Office on Thursday. “That’s OK, let him go, and we’ll put a 100 percent tariff on his toys, and he won’t sell one toy in the United States, and that’s their biggest market.”
Obviously, Barbie is a matter of national security, like movies and everything else.
“You know, somebody said, ‘Oh, the shelves are going to be open,’” Trump said. “Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, you know? And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.”
Dolls that cost more (not a couple of buck but double or more) is also winning.
Everything is winning.
And best of all we will balance our budget with tariffs because Nothing * Anything = Nothing .
Wait a second, I meant to say, and best of all we will bring Barbie production back to the US as a matter of national security, just like movies.
Movies Are Now a National Security Threat
On May 4, I noted Movies Are Now a National Security Threat, 100 Percent Tariffs Announced
“This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Irony of the Year
On May 9, Trump posted on Truth Social “CLOSED MARKETS DON’T WORK ANYMORE!!!”
For discussion of the irony of the year, please see 80 Percent Tariff on China ‘Seems Right’ Says Trump, But It’s Nearly as Stupid
An 80 percent tariff is nearly as stupid as a 145 percent tariff because most trade with China would still stop. Trade might stop at 50 percent.
And it is US consumers who pay that tariff, not China.
Despite ranting about “closed markets”, Trump insists Barbie dolls and movies be made in the US.
Someone in the Administration needs to give Trump a math lesson or resign in protest, but they are all a bunch of ass-licking suck-ups.