A senior Chinese diplomat said China will honor its phase-one trade commitments, and suggested that the U.S. live up to theirs on issues such as Taiwan.
In an interview with Chinese state television CGTN on Saturday night, Cui Tiankai, China’s ambassador to the U.S., also said talk of a new cold war was “very irresponsible.” The comments came as Beijing and Washington are working on final details of an interim trade deal that may see some of the tariffs imposed on Chinese goods lifted.
Source: American Journal of Transportation
A slowdown in U.S. new car sales and the threat of trade war between the European Union (EU) and the U.S. are casting long shadows over the trans-Atlantic container trade. Even so, another year of 3%+ growth is expected by Drewry Maritime Research.
After expanding 5.4% in the first half of 2019, westbound trans-Atlantic container shipments increased by just 0.5% in the third quarter – the lowest quarterly growth since the last three months of 2016.
Source: Freight Waves
The move from China confirms a progressive deal President Trump has been celebrating since Dec. 13, when he announced the U.S. tariffs set to go into effect Dec. 15 would not do so as part of the first phase of a trade deal that could signal the end of tit-for-tat tariffs.
The U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said China has pledged to increase imports from the U.S. by more than $200 billion over the next two years — $40 billion annually in agricultural products — according to multiple media reports.
Source: Supply Chain Dive
The latest figures from Dynamar's 2019 Reefer Analysis show that the international perishables trade reached a record 163 million tons in 2018 with 119 million tons carried by sea. Yet trade tensions continue to cause concern amongst shippers and carriers, both containerized and conventional, and the slowing output in key economies has led to an erratic end to the year in terms of trade flows.
Source: The Maritime Executive
It should be the busiest time of year for truck drivers like Gerald Rogers at the Los Angeles docks. Instead they’re scrapping over leaner cargoes thanks to the trade war.
Last year, the 35-year-old says, he was shuttling as many as four loads a day between the port and its storage facilities. Now it’s down to two — if he’s lucky. “The tariffs have changed the landscape,” he says. “China isn’t shipping as much, it’s cutting back on manufacturing. And when the loads don’t come, there’s not enough work for all of us.”
Source: Supply Chain Brain
