b'16American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comImport unpredictabilityT opN orThA mericANcontinues in 2025 with tariff uncertainty i mp orTers& An interview with Jackson Wood, Descartes Directore xp orTers25of Industry Strategy By Pete Goldin, AJOTWhilethepossibilityofthe global trading environment, tariffsbeingimposedonwhichhasbeenexperiencing U.S.importsduringthevolatility since 2020 caused by earlydaysofthesecondavarietyoffactorsincluding Trump Administrationisnothe COVID pandemic, regional surpriseafter all, this wasconflicts and geopolitical tensions.oneofthemostprominent campaignpromisesduringa h istoryl essonthe2024electiontheAFebruary1stWhite uncertaintyaboutthetariffsHouse statement says, Tariffs leavesanopenquestionare a powerful, proven source about U.S. imports in 2025,of leverage for protecting the accordingtoJackson Wood,national interest.Director of Industry Strategy,Woodexplains,President Global Trade Intelligence forTrumpistryingtocompel Descartes, a leading provider(UNCERTAINTYA steel worker of ThyssenKrupp stands amid sparks of raw iron coming from a blast furnace at a ThyssenKrupp steel ofinternationalimportandcontinued on page 18) factory in Duisburg, Western Germany. REUTERS/Wolfgang RattayexportdataviaDatamyne (seeTop100USImporters and Top 75 Exporters charts derivedfromDescartes-Datamyne data).On February 1, the Trump Administrationimposed25%SustainableSuccesstariffsonimportsfromthe twolargestU.S.trading partnersMexicoandIn 2005, the Port of Long Beach became The Green Port, working to lower Canadascheduledtostart onFebruary4.Then,onemissions and reduce impacts of our operations. Twenty years later, were February 3, President Trumpthriving, moving cargo with unsurpassed customer service and demonstrating agreed to a 30-day pause on the tariffs for both countries.that sustainability and success go together.Butitsanyonesguess astowhetherthesetariffs willultimatelymaterialize. Meanwhile, a 10% additional tariff on China imports went into effect on February 4.I think its pretty apparent thatvolatilityisthename of the game and is going to continuefortheforeseeable future,simplybecausethe expediencywithwhich negotiatedsettlementswere reachedwithMexicoand Canada seems to indicate that the current administration in the United States is seeing this potential disruption of global supply chains as a negotiating tactictofurtherpolitical priorities,saysWood.So, Ithinkthevolatilityand disruptionweareseeing fromaprotectionisttrade policy perspective is going to continue in the near and even the far future.Jackson Wood, Descartes Director of Industry StrategyThisalignswithWoods adviceintheJune2024 issue ofAJOT to expect the unexpectedwithrespectto'