U.S. & China trade war update

The trade war between the U.S. and China shows few signs of slowing as political headwinds continue to shift on a weekly basis. Notably, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled in favor of China this week on anti-subsidy tariffs placed by the U.S. on Chinese manufactured aluminum extrusions, steel cylinders, solar panels, and other products between 2007 and 2012 valued at $7.3 billion – by Chinese calculations. As the U.S. had argued that these products were partially state subsidized, it attributed a different value to the products, a key overturning by the WTO. Read the Office of the United States Trade Representative Trade official responsehere..

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports that trade talks have stalled and on Tuesday legislation was introduced into the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives to leave Chinese tech giant Huawei on the “entity list”, rendering it unable to conduct business with U.S. companies without a special license. What to do with Huawei has been a sticking point for negotiations as U.S. importers continue to absorb 25% tariffs on thousands of Chinese products.

How are the tariffs affecting U.S. ports of entry? According to a recent article by WorldCity’s Ken Roberts in Forbes, The Port of Los Angeles, consistently the nation’s top-ranked port, has seen a dip in the value of the port’s trade with China over the past year from 51% to 45%.

As the tariffs are commodity specific, ports of entry that import Chinese goods not subject to tariffs have been less affected. Such is the case with Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport as it imports large quantities of cell phones from China which do not have a tariff.

And closer to home,WorldCity published PortMiami’s numbers through May 2019:

“Port Miami’s trade with the world rose 3.82 percent, from $10.57 billion to $10.98 billion through the first five months of 2019 when compared to the same period the previous year, according to WorldCity analysis of the latest U.S. Census Bureau data.”

“Trade with No. 2 China fell 15.81 percent to $1.38 billion.

Exports fell 34.85 percent to $52.94 million. Imports fell 14.81 percent to $1.32 billion.”

CNBC: World Trade Organization opens the way for Chinese sanctions against US tariffs in Obama-era

Reuters: Bills targeting China’s Huawei introduced in Congress

WSJ: U.S.-China Talks Stuck in Rut Over Huawei

Forbes: Effects of U.S.-China Trade War: ‘The Proof’s In The Ports’

WTDC Freight Forwarding

Need to quote an upcoming ocean shipment? WTDC is an NVOCC and manages worldwide door to door solutions for our customers. WTDC is also a full service Customs Broker and works with local agents to facilitate seamless a transition from point of origin to final destination. WTDC is ready to assist with any transportation request by road, rail, air, or ocean.

Click for Quote

WTDC’s FTZ yard is ideal for bonded and domestic transloads and storage. We load and unload containers, open-top containers, flatracks, flatbeds, and special equipment each week of industrial equipment, project cargo, HVAC, machinery, construction materials and FAK cargo. WTDC can arrange for any domestic and international moves.

Click for Quote

Graduate students from Bolivia visit WTDC

On July 12, WTDC welcomed a group of graduate students from Universidad Privada Boliviana (UPB), the top business school in the country. This was the second group of UPB graduate students to visit WTDC. The students were greeted to a presentation about Foreign Trade Zones, Freight Forwarding, and company culture by Sean Powers, WTDC Sales & Marketing Manager, and Daniel Fajardo, WTDC Accounting Specialist.