So on top of the tariffs that are making many local foreign countries open their arms up to more Chinese investment and imports, the administration is getting closer and closer to absolutely destroying our export industry in the western hemisphere. I don't think many people realize just how much this is going to destroy a $50 billion export industry in the southern US.
A new duty of $1-1.5 million for every Chinese manufactured ship that docks in a US port is on the horizon. This won't do much to hurt the massive container ships, but probably $50 billion worth of goods are shipped through the Gulf of Mexico to our regional neighbors on ships with a capacity of fewer than 400 containers, many with a capacity under 200 containers. So we're probably talking about an extra $3-8,000 per 40' container (which is anywhere from a 75%-200% rate increase depending on where it's shipping.)
This will do nothing to harm the largest ocean freight companies that have an oligopoly over most of the US overseas shipping and are owned and operated by foreign entities, but Florida alone will lose tens of thousands of jobs between ports, regional freight companies, export companies, manufacturers, etc.
It will also crush a lot of local production all along the coasts because the ocean freight companies will cut many of their stops at the smaller ports along the coasts to reduce their port fees. So I guess a boon is coming for the rail industry.
But hey, just don't use Chinese ships...except China produces more commercial tonnage every year than the US has produced since WWII. The US hasn't been competitive in ship building for more than 30 years and our shipyards have focused on lucrative Navy contracts. Even if they started the new duties now, the first container ship from a new shipyard probably wouldn't get delivered until 2030 and it'd take more than a decade to start producing even 1/10 of the US shipping demand. So it's more likely that this duty will get eliminated before it has any major affect on US ship manufacturing, but increase production in other, better equipped countries that already build 10x the commercial ships than the US does. In the meantime, thousands of US small businesses will be crushed or consolidated.
I tried to find an article written from a neutral perspective.
A new duty of $1-1.5 million for every Chinese manufactured ship that docks in a US port is on the horizon. This won't do much to hurt the massive container ships, but probably $50 billion worth of goods are shipped through the Gulf of Mexico to our regional neighbors on ships with a capacity of fewer than 400 containers, many with a capacity under 200 containers. So we're probably talking about an extra $3-8,000 per 40' container (which is anywhere from a 75%-200% rate increase depending on where it's shipping.)
This will do nothing to harm the largest ocean freight companies that have an oligopoly over most of the US overseas shipping and are owned and operated by foreign entities, but Florida alone will lose tens of thousands of jobs between ports, regional freight companies, export companies, manufacturers, etc.
It will also crush a lot of local production all along the coasts because the ocean freight companies will cut many of their stops at the smaller ports along the coasts to reduce their port fees. So I guess a boon is coming for the rail industry.
But hey, just don't use Chinese ships...except China produces more commercial tonnage every year than the US has produced since WWII. The US hasn't been competitive in ship building for more than 30 years and our shipyards have focused on lucrative Navy contracts. Even if they started the new duties now, the first container ship from a new shipyard probably wouldn't get delivered until 2030 and it'd take more than a decade to start producing even 1/10 of the US shipping demand. So it's more likely that this duty will get eliminated before it has any major affect on US ship manufacturing, but increase production in other, better equipped countries that already build 10x the commercial ships than the US does. In the meantime, thousands of US small businesses will be crushed or consolidated.
I tried to find an article written from a neutral perspective.
