Maersk’s Tariff Update
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Maersk estimates that companies are currently paying effective U.S. import tariffs averaging 21% relative to container load, as reported by the Danish shipping group on Wednesday. This figure is less than half of the tariff rate prior to the U.S. government’s suspension of sweeping tariffs in April.
Historical Context
Maersk noted in its global market update that the average effective tariff rate peaked at 54% shortly after April 2, when President Donald Trump announced tariffs impacting nearly all U.S. trading partners. This estimate is based on the company’s container-weighted effective average tariff rate metric.
Negotiations and Trade Deals
More than a dozen major U.S. trading partners are actively working to finalize agreements with the Trump administration before the July 9 deadline, in an effort to prevent import tariffs from increasing.
In April, Trump initiated a 90-day pause on previously announced stiff levies, which had sent global financial markets into turmoil. “The whole world is on tariff watch in July and August where various deadlines for potential trade deals with the U.S. expire,” Maersk remarked. The outcomes of these negotiations are expected to influence global trade and consumer sentiment in the coming months.
Container Demand Growth
The company reported robust container demand growth during the first half of the year. “What played out was not completely unexpected; we did see customers advancing orders ahead of the tariff announcements,” Maersk explained.
Interestingly, Maersk has observed a trend where large U.S. customers have been reducing their import dependency on China in recent years. “Many apparel and fashion customers have now reached a single-digit dependency on Chinese products,” the company stated. However, certain other sectors, such as home improvements, still rely heavily on Chinese manufacturing due to the nature of the goods.
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