US ports fear impact of tariffs

A decline in trade volume could result in job losses in Long Beach and Los Angeles

Two key ports in Southern California demonstrate how extensive trade between China and the US is, and the effect that tariffs could have on that business.

"Anything that would reduce the volume of trade between China and the US would have a disproportionate impact on the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and would have a disproportionate impact on the labor force in Southern California involved in moving goods in and out of the ports based in California," said Jock O'Connell, an international trade adviser at Beacon Economics, a California consulting firm.