For months, as the Trump administration ratcheted up trade threats — announcing tariffs on allies and adversaries alike — business at the nation’s largest port complex in San Pedro Bay has hummed along, seemingly oblivious.
Smartphones, clothes and toys flowed in from China. Ceramics and beverages arrived from the European Union. Fruit arrived from Mexico.
About 40% of all U.S. imports moves through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs throughout Southern California. Shipments in and out have been rising this year, especially those from China.
But on Monday evening President Trump announced tariffs on an additional $200 billion in Chinese goods, his largest action yet. The move drew immediate threats of retaliation from the world’s second-largest economy — and predictions from trade experts that an escalating trade war could soon hit Southern California warehouse workers and truck drivers, while raising prices for consumers.
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