Port of Los Angeles study: Tariffs threaten $186 billion in US economic activity

Tariffs imposed by the US — and retaliatory tariffs that followed — threaten nearly 1.5 million US jobs and more than $186 billion of economic activity nationwide, according to a study released on Tuesday by the Port of Los Angeles, the nation's busiest container port complex.

The study — "By the Numbers: Jeopardizing the National Benefits of Trade through America's Busiest Port Complex" — is based on international trade moving through the adjacent San Pedro ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the country's largest container port complex.

The findings were announced Tuesday at a news conference in Washington by Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka.

"Nearly half of the goods that move through the Port of Los Angeles have tariffs attached to them, that simply put at risk the more than 3 million jobs that we have in the nation that are attached to the port, and the business at hand in individual congressional districts," he said.

"I am not saying a tariff leads directly to a layoff, but it does lead to under-employment. Very simply put, less cargo means less jobs."

Imports through the two ports flow to every state in the nation, the study points out, and goods grown or manufactured in every state are exported through Los Angeles and Long Beach to global markets, mostly Asia.

The study notes that most of the US import tariffs that have been imposed or proposed are directed at China, which accounts for most of the imports moving through the San Pedro Bay ports.

That includes 57 percent of containerized imports (by value) and 54 percent of total waterborne imports. The share of import value that may be impacted by tariffs is estimated to be 56.1 percent of containerized cargo, 16.7 percent of non-containerized cargo and 52.7 percent of total cargo.

The study breaks down how many jobs and how much in sales, income and taxes are at risk for every state due to tariffs, based on international trade through the San Pedro Bay ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The study also shows the economic benefits of the imports and exports to each congressional district and identifies the percentage affected by tariffs.

The study shows that tariffs imposed over the last two years could add additional costs — in the range of $31 billion to $35 billion — that are borne by consumers at the retail level and by American manufacturers who rely on imported raw materials and components to produce US-made products.

"The study focuses on the impacts of tariffs based on trade through the San Pedro Bay ports," Seroka said in a press release. "The implications are much bigger when you consider all US ports, so the effects that the Port of Los Angeles is seeing should concern all US ports of entry."

The Port of Los Angeles saw the biggest October drop in volumes in more than two decades. The port's October volumes also marked 12 consecutive months of declining US exports, 25 percent fewer ship calls, and a 19.1 decrease in volume compared with October 2018.

Tariffs and the trade wars have hit the US agricultural sector particularly hard, according to the study, with 26 percent to 51 percent of agricultural exports from all 50 states hit by tariffs, based on trade through San Pedro Bay.

Contact the writer at teresaliu@chinadailyusa.com