In a testimony today (August 24), before the US Trade Representative (USTR) in Washington, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) urged the federal government to consider the negative impacts that retaliatory tariffs would have on port and other trade-related American jobs nationwide.
The tariffs on cargo and equipment moving through American ports would be significant, noted AAPA President and CEO Kurt Nagle, adding that the additional $200 billion proposed, the total Section 301 tariffs on Chinese commodities and China’s retaliatory responses, to date, would cover 8.4% of trade through America’s ports by value.
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At $4.6 trillion a year, the value of cargo activities at America’s seaports are vital for the US economy, supporting more than 23 million American jobs and generating over $320 billion in annual federal, state and local taxes. All but 1% of the nation’s overseas trade moves through its maritime facilities.
In addition, Mr. Nagle called the multi-million-dollar container cranes that US ports have ordered from Chinese factories, in which there are no American-made alternatives, to be exempt from tariffs.
He also request that USTR exempt cargo-handling yard equipment at ports that have Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes that are specifically referenced in the Section 301 tariffs expansion proposal.
The hearings will last six days.
In the same wavelength, the American Petroleum Institute (API) focused on the counterproductive effects of Section 301 tariffs on America’s natural gas and oil sector, mentioning that the Chinese retaliatory tariffs will damage US LNG exports.
API called the US Administration not to impose additional tariffs on Chinese products during a hearing before the US Trade Representative on Section 301.