AJOT Insights features expert analysis and opinion on transportation, logistics, maritime, ports, air cargo, trucking, rail, intermodal and international trade.
The project was launched on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi in September 2023 by seven heads of state from India, the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy, the United States and the president of the European Union.
Despite the turmoil surrounding trade, tariffs and shipping, the Port of Redwood City’s executive director Kristine Zortman is “cautiously optimistic” about Port business prospects in 2025
Leading French cognac maker Rémy Martin, part of the Cointreau group has put two-thirds of its 390-strong workforce on part-time working as a direct result of a ‘double whammy’ of tariff hikes by China and the U.S. These two countries account for around 80% of the company’s sales.
California Governor Gavin Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit in federal court “challenging President Trump’s use of emergency powers to enact broad-sweeping tariffs, alleging they hurt states, consumers, and businesses,” according to an April 16th announcement.
China’s recently announced export restrictions on rare earth elements (REEs) are likely to adversely impact several U.S. commercial and defense technologies and should have been anticipated, according to researchers at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
According to a recent article in The Sunday Times (of London), entitled Chaos at European ports, as trade war leaves ships in limbo, queues of hundreds of ships are building up at maritime gateways in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UK amid tit-for-tat tariffs and plans to impose a $1 million fee on Chinese-linked vessels docking at US ports.
The Trump administration needs to support a long-term shipbuilding and shipping plan to support a US maritime revival, according to Joe Kramek, President and CEO, World Shipping Council (WSC).
The Port of Los Angeles is projecting a 10% volume decline, possibly beginning in the month of May, as the impact of higher tariffs causes a decline in imports and exports, according to Eugene Seroka, executive director, Port of Los Angeles.
Infrastructure investments during the Biden administration closed the shortfall in U.S. infrastructure investments, including roads, bridges, ports, inland waterways, and aviation.