The Trump Administration continues to be in rapid-fire mode. He promised changes, and changes we see.
As it relates to tariffs, there is no point talking about what is scheduled or threatened. Tariffs remain a moving target and change daily, even hourly. Until the negotiations are done and tariffs are set and implemented, the supply chain is in chaos.
As it relates to Trump’s plan to tax Chinese-built ships on per port of call basis, every segment of the supply chain agrees it is a bad idea. We understand the end game is to increase US ship building. It is an admirable goal. However, you cannot just flip a switch and make that happen. The US put two commercial ships in the water in the last five years, both 3500 TEUs. We are not yet ready for the size and scale of the current containership order book.
If we continue down this path, it will eliminate small and mid-size ports of call, create congestion at major gateways, put more trucks on our dilapidated and gridlocked roadways, outstrip capacity on our railroads, eliminate jobs, make US exports less competitive in the global marketplace and increase the price of just about everything.