America faces empty shelves ‘by summer’ amid Trump trade war

Donald Trumppresident

That's good. That means we lose less money,

Trump said when consulted about the matter, dismissing the potential impact on dockworkers, truckers, and exporters

We'll put 100 percent tariff on his toys, ... and he won't sell one toy in the United States, and that's their biggest market."

the president said

The impact the Port of Los Angeles has on the city, the region and the country cannot be understated,

Seroka told NPR

American importers, especially in the retail sector, are telling me that they have about five to seven weeks of normal inventory on hand today."

Seroka said last week

This week, we're down about 35 percent compared to the same time last year, and these cargo ships coming in are the first ones to be attached to the tariffs that were levied against China and other locations last month. That's why the cargo volume is so light."

Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, told CNN on Tuesday

Tariff-related shipping slowdowns will cause a regional cascade effect in the U.S., a little like when COVID-19 first hit. It will first be visible in West Coast ports, which have the fastest shipping times from Asia. After that it will spread to Gulf ports like Houston, which take a little longer to reach, then East Coast ports from the Carolinas up to New England."

Ryan Young, senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, previously told Newsweek

I can see it right over my shoulder here, I'm looking out at the Port of Seattle right now, and we currently have no container ships at berth,

Seattle port commissioner Ryan Calkins told CNN on Wednesday

You could hear a pin drop,

Port of Los Angeles Director Gene Seroka said, telling NPR this week

The full impact of tariffs — and the May 2 expiration of the de minimis exemption — has yet to be reflected in import volumes from China,

Descartes said, referring to popular duty-free access for low-value shipments from China and Hong Kong

The regulations in the Digital Markets Act, Digital Services Act, AI Act, the proposed Cloud Certification Scheme, and others from the European Union impose restrictions that discriminate against content, market size, as well as the physical location of data storage and processing,

Tholos said in the press release

The Index finds countries with lower trade barriers experience more prosperity, economic freedom, and environmental performance,

the foundation said in a press release

We haven’t seen anything like this since the disruptions of summer 2020,

Vizion CEO Kyle Henderson told CNBC

That’s hundreds of jobs right here in our region and across the country,

Calkins continued

If you're an importer in the U.S. planning to bring in cargo from Asia—especially China—you're likely hesitating,

Cordero said

You don't want to be the idiot that imported at 145 percent, because you'll never get that money back."

Or as Owen Carr, chief merchandising officer for e-commerce firm Spreetail, put it

If you're planning to buy something that could face a high tariff—like electronics—buy it before July 2nd,

Cordero told Newsweek

Some of the workforce will not be getting their full 40 hours a week based on the loss of cargo. Job loss is definitely a concern,

Herrera told the Los Angeles Times

If nothing changes, the supply chain will face job losses,

he told Newsweek, listing truck drivers, warehouse staff and dockworkers as those first in line for disruption

Importers were trying to avoid future tariffs,

Cordero said of the early-year surge

At some point, I'm going to lower [tariffs on China] because otherwise, you could never do business with them,

Trump said, appearing to acknowledge that the current 145 percent rate was not sustainable