Port says too soon to know tariff impact on imports
This article’s headline was updated on April 5.
Port of Hueneme officials don’t anticipate an immediate, short-term reduction in auto imports due to President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on passenger vehicles.
The port and their automotive manufacturing customers in Japan, South Korea, Germany, and the UK are taking a wait and see attitude toward the tariffs, Kristin Decas, the port’s CEO and director, told the Business Times April 4.
Trump announced the levies March 26.
“A 25% tariff on the auto industry caught us off guard,” Decas said.
“It’s happened very fast and so we’re still taking some time to unpack it all and digest it,” she said.
But, she noted, in talking to the port’s auto industry customers, “all of them are really aligned in their thinking that it’s not appropriate to shift any production levels at this time.
“They feel that there are more negotiations to be had, and that perhaps these tariffs are not going to be permanent,” Decas said.
And thus, “they’re not going to do anything hyper reactive in their supply chain,” she said.
Instead, they’re going to continue production levels as forecasted, Decas said.
“And they plan to bring those volumes here through the Port of Hueneme,” she said.
