Diplomacy

New tariffs cost a single ship $417 million, Bloomberg reports

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According to Bloomberg, the burden imposed by the 145% tariffs applied by President Donald Trump on goods from China in the US is $417 million for a single cargo ship.

The ship examined by the American publication as an example is the massive OOCL Violet, carrying thousands of containers full of goods bound for the US.

The ship had begun loading goods bound for the US before Trump’s tariff announcement on April 2. According to detailed bill of lading data from IHS Markit, when the ship arrived in California, it was carrying cargo worth at least $564 million in total.

According to Bloomberg’s estimates, approximately 40% of the goods will be subject to the new 145% tariff. The data shows that importing companies will face at least $417 million in new tariffs for all goods on the ship. Moreover, this is in addition to existing import fees.

Tino Muratore, a representative of Worldlawn Power Equipment, which had lawnmowers and spare parts on the ship, said, “This definitely affects business. We don’t know if this is permanent or temporary… so we’re all kind of in limbo and exploring other options.”

The cargo on the Violet ship represents a microcosm of consumer goods and industrial materials: fish, sneakers, forklifts, latex medical gloves, car windshields, pasta, wheelchairs, and bras.

Calculating tariffs involves a complex set of factors, such as the type of imported product, its origin, and for goods shipped within the week after Trump’s announcement, the time the ship departed from each port before arriving in the US.

The Violet first began loading operations in Dalian, a major port city located north of the Yellow Sea. At that time, most Chinese goods were subject to an additional 20% US tariff, originally stemming from Trump’s concerns about China’s role in the fentanyl crisis.

Just a few days later, as the ship departed from China’s Ningbo port, the highest new tariff rate for cars and some aluminum and steel products had risen to 45%.

The biggest blow for the Violet’s customers was the final tariff increase, which took effect just hours before the ship departed from Shanghai. With this increase, the new tariffs applied to Chinese goods rose to 145%. This last-minute increase alone added $220 million to the import costs of US companies with cargo on the ship.

Many companies with cargo on the Violet, including Worldlawn Power Equipment, had limited time to react to the sudden tariff increases. Muratore said, “We had some products already in transit at sea. Yes, like everyone else, we’re trying to figure out how to navigate this situation.”

Bloomberg consulted international logistics experts to estimate the cost of the White House’s new tariffs for the cargo on the Violet ship, along with recent regulations and US Customs and Border Protection rules.

Depending on the information provided by importers to customs authorities, the exact amount of tariffs paid may differ from these estimates. Importers storing their goods at the Port of Long Beach may face a different tariff amount if rates change before the cargo is released.

According to calculations, the total value of Chinese goods with the new tariffs reached at least $409 million.

The 5.7 million pounds of Chinese-origin knitted garments on the Violet ship were subject to the highest estimated new tariff among all categories. Approximately three-quarters of these goods are subject to the highest rate. This category includes everything from products of major brands like women’s vests shipped to Ross Stores to $230,000 worth of work gloves shipped to Kansas City.

Thousands of dollars in additional tariffs depend on when the goods were loaded. Nebraska-based Big Joe Forklift paid an additional $109,000 for $95,000 worth of order pickers and other warehouse equipment because they were loaded onto the ship two days after the highest rate took effect. A Big Joe Forklift spokesperson confirmed these figures but offered no further comment.

A few days after Trump increased “retaliatory” tariffs against China, CBP announced an exception for some electronic products in a bulletin. Approximately $4.7 million worth of Chinese-made TV monitors, laptops, and other accessories on the Violet ship will likely be included in the exception, reducing the average tariff rate in this category to 67%.

Cars and car parts were also exempted from “retaliatory” tariffs. Instead, there is a 45% tariff (excluding tariffs overlapping with steel or aluminum tariffs), while car parts are subject to a 20% tariff, one of the lowest rates for Chinese goods. However, the rate applied to car parts will increase again in May.

Other affected products include industrial parts, as well as ordinary household items such as foldable drying racks, plastic pots, decorative pine cones, and pumpkins.

The Port of Long Beach, according to its published estimates, anticipates approximately a 40% drop in ship calls and import volume from mid-April to mid-May. This reflects the typical delay seen for supply chain changes to impact the global economy.

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