Industry insiders in the shipping and retail sectors warn that Trump's plan to increase import tariffs after returning to the White House will cause freight prices to soar and exacerbate inflation, just like when he was president before.
Industry insiders in the shipping and retail sectors warn that former US President and Republican presidential candidate Trump plans to increase import tariffs after returning to the White House, which will cause freight prices to soar and exacerbate inflation, just as he did when he was president before.
The US presidential election in 2024 is scheduled for November 5th, and Trump will compete for the presidency with Vice President and Democrat Harris.
During his term from 2017 to 2021, Trump was fond of wielding the tariff stick. As he begins his second term campaign, he has repeatedly vowed to increase tariffs on all imported goods after being elected.
In Tuesday's presidential television debate with Trump, Harris called his proposal the "Trump sales tax," which will hurt working families.
Peter Sand, Chief Analyst at shipping pricing platform Xeneta, said, "Trump's import tariffs will be a replay of history, causing prices in the container shipping market to soar, with consumers bearing the cost."
Xeneta's data shows that after the Trump administration announced new tariffs in 2018, prices in the container shipping market soared by over 70%. From January 1st to November 1st of that year, the spot freight rate for a 40-foot container on the busy trade route from China to the US West Coast rose by 75% to $2,604.
Tariffs have also disrupted the supply chain, as shippers compete for capacity on ships, trains, and trucks, causing goods to be packed in ports and warehouses, resulting in price increases for various commodities, from furniture and footwear to steel.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) in the usa is one of the industry organizations opposing Trump's tariffs, representing walmart and other companies accounting for nearly half of container marine transportation volume.
Earlier this week, NRF stated that tariffs are taxes on imported commodities, like a disguised form of sales tax, raising consumer commodity costs and harming the interests of workers and businesses.
Matt Priest, head of the American Footwear Distributors and Retailers Association, said: 'We are typical representatives of tariffs failing to protect domestic footwear production.' He pointed out that currently, 99% of footwear in the usa is imported.