World News
President Trump's Tariff Plans Could Shake US Shipping Markets: Xeneta
Though US President Donald Trump has yet to implement his promised tariffs, uncertainty surrounding his trade policy has kept US shippers bracing for potential supply chain disruptions, especially as he is still settling into office.
"Shortly following his inauguration on Monday, Trump stated he is 'thinking about' introducing his proposed 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada on 1 February," shipping analytics platform Xeneta said in an emailed statement on Tuesday.
Instead of immediately enforcing his previous threats of 60% tariffs on Chinese goods and 10-20% on imports from the rest of the world, Trump has ordered an investigation into trade deficits, unfair trade practices and alleged currency manipulation by other countries.
"We know tariffs are on the way – we just don't know when, where or the category of goods impacted. This uncertainty makes managing supply chain risk an almost impossible task," Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta, said.
Sand warns that if President Trump introduces blanket tariffs on China and other countries simultaneously, it could spark a surge of imports into the US ahead of the new measures.
Data from Xeneta reveals that when Trump escalated tariffs on Chinese imports during the 2018 trade war, the ocean container shipping markets surged by over 70%.
"The rush to import goods into the US ahead of tariffs coming into effect could cause carnage across global supply chains and put upward pressure on already-elevated freight rates."
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 610.00 | 1.50 | 741.00 | 15.50 |
| Rotterdam | 554.50 | 4.50 | 709.00 | 15.00 |
| Houston | 591.00 | 8.00 | 772.00 | 5.00 |
| Fujairah | 593.00 | 5.00 | 778.00 | 14.00 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 615.50 | 3.50 | 810.00 | 6.50 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 587.00 | 5.00 | 750.00 | 12.50 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 656.00 | 2.00 | 848.50 | 2.50 |
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