Warning of serious regional economic consequences, the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) became the latest organization this week to warn of the potential effects of President Donald Trump’s newly proposed steel and aluminum tariffs.
Those tariffs, which Trump has continued to support despite calls for moderation from nearly all sectors at home and abroad, would place a 25 percent duty on all steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports. The NWSA and the Port of Seattle saw such imports in their zones exceed $2.5 billion in value in 2017, with the materials going on to support Washington-based manufacturers or to be routed to other U.S. destinations. Significant tariffs could thus decimate a several billion dollar industry in the region.
“Just as concerning as these blanket tariffs is the potential for retaliatory tariffs on exports of Washington agricultural and manufactured goods,” Don Meyer, Port of Tacoma commission president and NWSA co-chair, said. “As a state in which 40 percent of our jobs are tied to international trade, we are risking jobs and quality of life by levying blanket tariffs against some of our most important trading partners and opening the door to their retaliation.”
Yet the organization is not only worried about imports to the region. The fear is for the export side as well. Numerous trade experts have warned that these new tariffs could lead to retaliatory tariffs from other countries–and numerous countries have threatened just that.
“Washington farmers export 80 to 90 percent of their wheat, and so we are deeply reliant on foreign markets to ensure the success of our state’s growers,“ Mike Miller, former chair of the Washington Grain Commission and current chairman of the U.S. Wheat Associates, said. “Our product is an easy target for retaliatory tariffs, which not only have the potential to reduce sales to overseas partners, but also disrupt long-term relationships that have taken years to cultivate.”
The NWSA is the second-largest gateway for agricultural and forestry exports in the United States. Those exports reached more than $6.8 billion in value in 2016.