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President Donald Trump’s tariffs could turn international collection into opportunities for American-made goods, particularly agricultural products, despite halting cargo traffic through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, officials said on Sunday.
While talking to Conan Nolan of NewsConference, LA CEO port Jean Seloka said this time in history that it may offer an open window “to really push American exports.”
“In this country, we only consume about a third of all the crops grown by American farmers. Let’s open our overseas markets to those people,” Seroka said.
North America’s busiest container port leader added that it will help US manufacturing drive the economy with the right strategy.
“We have 390,000 jobs related to manufacturing, but we only export 1% of these products,” he added. “Here we have a real opportunity to drive a US economy that doesn’t affect consumers.”
However, California officials appear to have a more pessimistic view on tariffs, with Gov. Gavin Newsom suing the Trump administration last month to challenge tariffs. The lawsuit filed in US District Court for the Northern District of California argued that such tariffs require approval from Congress to be enacted.
Democrat Newsom said tariffs could inherently inflate costs and could cause billions of dollars in damage to California.
“No state loses more than California,” Newsom said at a press conference last month.
As Newsom highlighted, the second generation almond farmer in Central Valley said it was unclear how the family business will carry an ongoing trade war, as she emphasizes that many of the nuts, fruits and vegetables grown in the state are doomed to other countries.
“Do you have access to what you need to grow crops? If so, can you even afford it?” Christine Jemper said.
California farmers grow around 76% of the world’s almonds and rely on global markets for materials to build agricultural equipment and irrigation systems.
Celoka also raised the alarm for the next few weeks, saying consumers will start looking at empty shelves in four or six weeks.
“What retailers are telling me is that they have a normal inventory level level for about a month, perhaps a month and a half,” said LA CEO Port. “If a trade contract is not hit in any form or form, it means that inventory will continue to work, and there may be spot shortages in shelves and online purchasing apps, and prices will rise.”
Celoka also added that while around 80 ships usually come to Los Angeles Port in May, 17 ships cancelled their voyage to Southern California this month.
Fewer shipping containers mean fewer employment opportunities, Celoka said.
“Currently there are 33 work groups or labor gangs on the dock, just like the phone. On traditional Fridays, it usually falls between 40 and 50 of these work groups,” he explained.
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