The announcement of a 90-day truce in the United States and China trade war could be great news for port workers impacted by the cargo slowdown.
Mario Cordero, CEO at the Port of Long Beach, told KNX News’ Jon Baird that he feels optimistic about the news.
“I think all along, you know, I tend to have some rational optimism here that at the end of the day, this is too important an issue for both countries,” he said. “I do believe that there's going to be a pragmatic approach and some kind of resolution. “
Last week, both ports were seeing drops in cargo traffic due to the tariffs. Gene Seroka, the executive director of the Port of L.A., told Baird at the time that the port would see a 35% decrease in import cargo compared to last year.
On Monday, Seroka told Baird that even if this deal sticks, it could take a while for everything to get back up to speed.
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“It would likely take the shipping lines a couple of weeks to reposition their vessels at normal ports like Shanghai, Qingdao, Xiamen, and then another two weeks to steam across here to Los Angeles,” he said.
Last week, Sal DiCostanzo, a port liaison with ILWU Local 13, told the Long Beach Post News that dockworkers were beginning to see their hours get cut.
After the trade war pause was announced, a dockworker told Baird he thinks everything is going to be ok.
“I think we're gonna end up where we were,” he said. “I think just a little kerfluffle, as they say.”
The agreement drops the U.S. rate on China from 145% to 30%.
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