Ship-to-shore cranes loading cargo at the Port of Long Beach on April 10, 2025.
(
Corine Solberg
/
Sipa USA via Reuters
)
Topline:
A spike in tariffs next week may lead to fewer imports at the Port of L.A. Officials there say it could lead to higher consumer prices — and less employment at the docks.
Why it matters: The complex is a major economic engine in the region. The Port of L.A. handled $26 billion in trade in April.
Why now: President Donald Trump paused hefty tariffs for 90 days during a trade war in the spring. That pause ends July 8.
The backstory: Trump announced double digit tariffs on products from dozens of countries, both major and minor U.S. trade partners.
Read on ... to learn more about the effects on the ports.
Officials at the Port of L.A. are nervously watching Tuesday, July 8, on their calendars. That’s when a 90-day pause by the White House on double digit tariffs on goods from major U.S. trade partners is set to end.
President Donald Trump has been non-committal about extending the pause, but said this weekend he was expecting the tariffs to come into effect, unless trade deals were done before then.
Business at the port complex, the biggest in the U.S., had already dropped because of Trump’s trade war in the spring.
On some days more than 1,000 diesel trucks an hour pass between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
(
Courtesy Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice
)
“Imports coming in were down about 20% in May, coming from Asia ... into Los Angeles compared to the prior month,” said Phillip Sanfield, spokesperson for the Port of L.A.
Even though major tariffs were paused, Sanfield said, U.S. businesses made fewer purchases from China and other countries because of the expected higher prices caused by tariffs.
The drop in traffic has led to less work on the docks.
“It's being felt in the pocketbook by the dock workers and waterfront workers throughout the port complex,” including truckers, Sanfield said.
It's being felt in the pocketbook by the dock workers and waterfront workers throughout the port complex.
— Phillip Sanfield, Port of L.A. spokesperson
The Port of L.A. handled more than $26 billion in trade through its facilities in April of this year. The vast majority of that is imports from Pacific Rim countries. China accounted for 27% of that trade value. Japan and Vietnam are behind China; together the two countries account for about 30% of the value of products coming through the port.
