JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Cargo activity in Jacksonville and across the country could be impacted by President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to impose a 60% tariff on goods imported from China and a tariff of up to 20% on all other imports.
Some economists say higher tariffs could mean higher prices for consumers.
Trump claims that tariffs will boost American manufacturing, create jobs, and bring in billions of dollars to help pay for other policy initiatives, such as tax cuts, although some economists warn they are likely to provoke retaliation and drive up costs for consumers.
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As Florida’s biggest container port, JAXPORT is a major hub for international trade—moving things people rely on every day, such as cars, forest products, and foodstuffs.
JAXPORT boasts a $33 billion annual economic impact for the region and state and generates more than 200,000 jobs in Florida, including about 28,000 jobs that rely on the port.
A spokesperson from JAXPORT told News4JAX it’s too soon to say how tariffs might impact their business; however, they said JAXPORT is unique because about 50% of its container business, as well as a sizeable portion of its auto business, is with Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory that would not be impacted by tariffs.
Jim Mirabella, who is a professor of decision sciences and information management at Jacksonville University, said in the short term, the prospect of increased tariffs could lead to more imports.
“I don’t believe we would have as much pain as people would think for a little while, because people they’re going to stock up just to get ready for Christmas anyway,” Mirabella said. “And I believe that they’ll probably stock up a lot more because of the incoming tariff.”
According to a report from the nonpartisan Peterson Institute for International Economics, the higher tariffs would cost a typical middle class U.S. household more than $2,600 a year, shrinking their after-tax income by about 4 percent. The report says, “The top 1 percent would experience net gains in income because their losses from tariffs are more than offset by Trump’s proposed tax cuts.”
Tariffs are paid by the importers: American companies. Mirabella said the goal of raising taxes on imports is to make America more self-reliant and encourage companies to move manufacturing back to the U.S.
“He’s trying to protect the economy by doing that, keeping the stuff made in America. And as more people are making more money, they’re spending the money in America,” Mirabella said.
News4JAX asked Mirabella what kind of impact the proposed increased tariffs might have on JAXPORT specifically.
“I looked it up, and I saw something like it was less than 10% of all the stuff that comes into Jacksonville comes from China. So it’s not a significant amount compared to, like, I said, the West Coast.”
A spokesperson from JAXPORT told News4JAX three factors will determine any impact on their shipping volume from tariffs— which countries are affected, what commodities are affected, and the tariff rate.
They also said diversification at JAXPORT helps keep the port economically stable, as they have port connections with 70 countries, as well as business with the cruise industry and the military.