Jaguar Freight | The Weekly Roar – More tariff threats, global container traffic hits record, jitters over changes to USMCA rules, European labor strife, and a landmark emissions deal crumbles.

The U.S.-China trade war is escalating, and it’s creating more uncertainty for importers. President Trump recently threatened an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods, effective November 1, due to China’s actions restricting access to rare earth minerals. After some strongly worded pushback from China, President Trump acknowledged on Friday that the threatened high tariffs on Chinese goods were “not sustainable” but are still planned for implementation. In other tariff news, there are signals that auto tariffs may be easing, while supply chains everywhere await the pivotal Supreme Court hearings on the legality of specific duties set to begin early next month. Tariffs on timber and some wood products (including furniture) went into effect on October 14.

In what may be a surprise if you’ve been reading the headlines, global container traffic hit a record 16.61 million TEUs in August, even though there was a 0.5% decline in North American imports. Year-to-date, global volumes are up 4.4% to 126.75 million TEUs, with strong growth in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and Latin America. North American trade has been impacted by front-loading and U.S. tariff policies. Meanwhile, container shipping freight rates on average remain above their pre-COVID levels.

Here is another impact of global trade uncertainty. The trend toward nearshoring seemed to be all but certain post-COVID, but that may be changing. The upcoming review of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has many manufacturers hesitant to shift production to North America. Some businesses are essentially frozen in place or just cautious, uncertain about how potential changes to USMCA rules could affect them, while others are maximizing compliance to benefit from tariff exemptions. Some companies have redirected production to existing Mexican facilities, but any broader moves have been stalled due to regulatory uncertainty and increased rules of origin requirements. In the end, most manufacturers are holding off on making any supply chain changes until there’s more clarity on where the USMCA is going.

Port labor issues have reached a tipping point again. After nearly a week of disruptions at the Port of Rotterdam, a court has ruled that the lashing workers’ strike has to be limited to weekends, keeping normal weekday operations going while negotiations continue. The strike, sparked by pay and pension disputes, has led to a backlog of dozens of container ships at its peak. Meanwhile, Belgian port and air freight strikes continue to disrupt logistics, and widespread delays are expected across Europe’s supply chains, particularly for automotive, chemical, and food shipments.

Under pressure from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, a landmark emissions deal has been tabled for at least a year. The agreement was developed to set emission targets for the global maritime industry, with its framework established by over one hundred countries in April of this year. Labeled a “green scam” by President Trump, the measure was set to pass last week, but a late change in sentiment by several countries allowed the passage of a Saudi motion to adjourn the meeting before the official vote took place. The UK and most EU nations voted to continue the talks, but some countries voted to abstain.

For the rest of the week’s top shipping news, check out the article highlights here.

Compliments of Jaguar Freight – a member of the EACCNY.