Trump election leads to industry uncertainty

It was widely reported during his public campaign that Mr Trump strongly disagreed with the free-trade agreements that the US holds, including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the soon-to-be ratified Trans-Pacific Partnership.

A representative from the Port of New Orleans told Port Strategy: “In the aftermath of the election and statements made during the campaign, the Port of New Orleans is waiting to learn more about potential action on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and existing trade agreements. In the meantime, we will continue to work closely with current customers and develop relationships with new trading partners.”

The President-elect made it clear he would aim to restrict free trade. If this promise is delivered on, it would have severe consequences to US ports, with containerships moving more than 90% of US exports and imports.

Most worried about the effect of Trump’s presidency are Californian ports, where the state economy is driven by international trade much more than in other US states.

Further, 40% of all US imports come through South American ports, so restrictions on tree trade could also have a damaging effect on these ports.

Mr Trump has made clear his desire to prioritise US domestic trade over international trade, referring to NAFTA as a “disaster”.

He believes that the US market is too previous to give up without new trade deals negotiated on an individual basis, but it remains to be seen whether countries will continue to trade with the US if it culls free trade deals.

Free trade restrictions would be bad news for an industry experiencing one of the worst downturns for 30 years, meaning that slow demand growth, over capacity and low rates could be become the new norm.

As US ports brace themselves for potentially less imported goods in the future, it remains to be seen what type of president Donald Trump will be and whether he will live up to the campaign promises and propaganda he so strongly portrayed.

Port Strategy contacted a number of US ports for comment, however they stated they must stay neutral and not portray any political bias on the subject of a presidential election.