Trump’s tariffs are starting to hit the busiest port in the country. Next come the store shelves
The effects of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies are already appearing at America’s busiest port, and its top official says that shortages could begin showing up on store shelves in as early as five to seven weeks if new deals aren’t made.
The Port of Los Angeles, the busiest seaport for container freight in North America, is expecting about a third of its import volume to drop next week, its executive director Gene Seroka says, and CEOs are telling him they’re putting imports on hold because of uncertainty and because Trump’s tariffs are too expensive.
“CEOs are telling me, ‘Hit pause; I’m not going to import any more at these kind of prices. Let’s wait and see,’ ” Seroka recently said on Bloomberg Surveillance. “Retailers are saying we’ve got about five to seven weeks of normal inventory in the country right now, but then we start to see spot shortages if it goes on much beyond this.”
Even if the Trump administration reaches deals to lower tariffs, it would take about a month for container freight ships to be repositioned, loaded, and arrive in the U.S., Seroka said, which could impact spring and summer apparel and back-to-school sales.
Already, Trump’s tariffs are having an impact on hiring, Seroka said, with CEOs telling him hiring and capital investments are now off the table. And at the Port of L.A., fewer container freights translate to less work for dock workers and truckers.
“Every four containers mean a job, so when we start dialing this back, it’s less job opportunity,” he said.
The U.S. economy shrank in the first quarter of 2025, and Trump’s tariffs have added uncertainty for small businesses and publicly traded companies alike. Trump told NBC’s Meet the Press in an interview that aired Sunday that he thought “the good parts” of the economy can be attributed to him and “the bad parts” can be attributed to former President Joe Biden. “Ultimately, I take responsibility for everything, but I’ve only just been here for a little over three months.
“The tariffs have just started kicking in and we’re doing really well,” he said. “We’re going to be a very rich country.”