U.S. representatives sound alarm over slowing port activity

Three Democratic U.S. representatives for California visited the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Friday to voice their concerns after President Trump told reporters that the slowdown of activity at the ports was “a good thing.”

Trump has argued that tariffs are needed to boost manufacturing jobs in the U.S. and that the slowdown in port activity “means we lose less money.”

But steep duties on imports from key trade partners have resulted in fewer cargo containers moving through the two ports, which are the busiest in the nation.

With a 145% tariff on China, a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico, and 10% tariffs on dozens of other countries, the flow of goods into the U.S. is expected to slow drastically.

The drop off in activity means fewer jobs for longshoremen and truckers, and down the line, higher prices for consumers, the representatives said.

“Unfortunately, Trump engaged in a trade war without understanding the repercussions of his actions,” U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) told The Times. “This is going to cost them a lot.”

During a Friday board tour of the port of Los Angeles, where towering cranes loaded cargo onto waiting ships, Gomez said in an interview that port workers and small business owners would be hit hardest by the tariffs.

The scene was less bustling than usual, port officials said. Seventeen ships have already canceled their planned trips to the Port of Los Angeles in May, port officials said, an occurrence known as a “blank sailing” that means less cargo being processed.

Cargo containers are stacked near the shore as normally bustling berths sit empty Friday as Trump’s tariff’s are plunging volume as much as 35% as ships from China cancel their trips to the Port of Los Angeles.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka predicted in late April that activity at the ports would plunge by 35% over the next 14 days. The 17 confirmed blank sailings in May alone are equivalent to 225,000 fewer 20-foot equivalent units of cargo, or TEUs.

Roughly four TEUs represent one job at the port, according to Rep. Nanette Barragan (D-San Pedro). The ripple effects of the tariffs could result in significant job loss, she said, which could harm the communities of Long Beach and San Pedro, which she represents.

“It was really concerning to hear the president, when he was asked about the slowdown, say it was a good thing,” Barragan said. “It’s insulting to people at the ports and American families who are going to start to see prices going up.”

The Port of Los Angeles, which covers 7,500 acres on San Pedro Bay, processed more than 10 million TEUs in 2024. A 2023 report found that the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach contributed $21.8 billion in direct revenue to local service providers, generating $2.7 billion in state and local taxes and creating 165,462 jobs, directly and indirectly.

A decline of just 1% in cargo to the ports would wipe away 2,769 jobs and endanger as many as 4,000 others, the study found.

A spike of activity at the ports preceded the drop-off as importers front-loaded goods before the tariffs took effect. While large corporations such as Amazon and Walmart had this option, smaller businesses likely did not, Gomez said.

“The mom and pop stores, the medium size and small folks, they don’t have warehouses where they can just store stuff,” Gomez said. “I don’t want them to go through unnecessary pain.”

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) also visited the twin ports on Friday.

“The reality is that no communities are going to be impacted by these tariffs more than Long Beach, San Pedro and south Los Angeles,” Garcia said. “The dockworkers and warehouse workers, they are the fabric of the harbor.”

A White House representative did not respond to a request for comment.