LOS ANGELES — The Port of Los Angeles had its busiest June on record amid uncertainty about the Trump administration’s tariff policies, its executive director said Monday.
What happened: Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka, speaking at a media briefing, said that the country’s busiest port brought in 892,000 container units in June, an 8 percent increase compared to last year.
That uptick came after a slow May and the first half of June, following the implementation of a 145 percent tariff on Chinese goods. Seroka credited the increase in goods arriving at the port to Trump’s May 12 decision to pause that levy, saying the news caused a “tariff whipsaw effect.”
Seroka said he anticipates a strong July as retailers rush to bring stuff in for the holiday season but warned of impending uncertainty as the Trump administration prepares to enact a new 30 percent tariff on the European Union and Mexico starting Aug. 1, and the pause on the Chinese tariff lifts on Aug. 11.
