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Trump's Trade War Starting to Hurt Shipping

TradeWinds

The Trump tariffs begun this year -- particularly those on steel -- are beginning to take a toll on shipbuilding and port upgrades, an industry expert says.

"We've seen steel prices jump up 20% to 25% in this country," Matthew Thomas, a maritime lawyer with law firm Blank Rome, said today at Marine Money's annual Ship Finance Forum in New York City.

"That has had a direct impact on US shipbuilding, depending on hedging strategies ... certainly on Gulf region shipbuilders and also impact on infrastructure investment."

He said the tariffs are also hurting the containership sector as the US-China trade war puts higher manufacturing costs on boxed goods, causing a slowdown in volume.

"Trump's Trade War Starting to Hurt Shipping," by Michael Juliano was published in TradeWinds on November 14, 2018.Â