Imports bounce back at LA port in June in tariff 'whipsaw effect'
Port authorities said on Monday that the volume of import cargo rose 32 percent from May. They said unscheduled container vessels also arrived in the latter half of June.
The agreement on tariffs in mid-May apparently led to a surge in shipments from China. The LA port is a key gateway to Asia.
Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka told reporters that the rebound in imports highlighted what he called a "tariff whipsaw effect."
US President Donald Trump has extended the pause on what he calls "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners until August 1.
Seroka predicted that there will be "one last push" in cargo coming to the United States before the new tariff deadline.
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Japan Today
36 minutes ago
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Australia and China call for more dialogue, cooperation at leaders' meeting
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Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
China steps in as U.S. pulls back from diplomacy, report says
China is increasing its diplomatic reach as President Donald Trump's administration pares back America's international presence, Democrats from the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee said in a report released on Monday. The report, the result of months of staff travel and research, was released as the Trump administration makes deep cuts to the State Department, including beginning on Friday to fire more than 1,350 U.S.-based employees, part of a total reduction of nearly 3,000 people for the U.S.-based workforce. The administration has also cut billions of dollars in foreign aid, effectively shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development, which funded the majority of U.S. humanitarian and development assistance worldwide. That led to the firing of thousands of its employees and contractors and the slashing of more than 80% of its programs. Critics said the cuts would undermine Washington's ability to defend and promote U.S. interests abroad. Research published in The Lancet medical journal said the cuts to USAID and its dismantling could result in more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030. "Within days of the Trump administration taking office and starting to roll back our commitments around the world, China was already labeling the United States an unreliable partner," Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top committee Democrat, told reporters on a conference call about the report. "At a time when we're retreating, they are expanding their footprint," she said. The Trump administration says its changes help align foreign policy with Trump's "America First" agenda, and are part of a push to shrink the federal bureaucracy and cut what Trump officials say has been wasteful spending. Trump has said the U.S. pays disproportionately for foreign aid and he wants other countries to shoulder more of the burden. The Democrats' 91-page report listed ways, from broadcasting to health programs and development efforts, that committee researchers said China is expanding its influence. It lists dozens of cases in which the committee researchers found that China had stepped in as the U.S. eliminated or cut back international programs, from funding vaccines and providing food to infrastructure development. For example, in Africa, as the U.S. terminated food assistance programs, China in March donated $2 million in rice to Uganda. In May, after the U.S. terminated a $37 million HIV/AIDS grant in Zambia, China said it would help the African nation fight HIV/AIDS, including by donating 500,000 rapid HIV testing kits and planning more meetings to discuss its continued partnership on the issue. In Southeast Asia, Chinese President Xi Jinping embarked on a tour to meet with leaders in Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia, the report said. The trip yielded an agreement in Vietnam for railroad connections, 37 cooperation agreements in Cambodia in sectors including energy, education and infrastructure and technical and manufacturing exchanges in Malaysia. And in Latin America, China in May hosted the "China-Latin American and the Caribbean Forum" and announced it would provide a $9 billion credit line and additional infrastructure investments for the region.
Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
With China and Trump, Japan defense report says world entering ‘new era of crisis'
The international community has entered 'a new era of crisis,' according to Japan's annual defense report released Tuesday, with China representing Tokyo's 'greatest strategic challenge' and U.S. President Donald Trump's policies expected to 'significantly impact' the Indo-Pacific region. The annual report, which was approved by the Cabinet at a meeting the same day, is packed with tough assessments of the regional security environment Japan faces, as well as a detailed description of progress it has made in strengthening its own defenses. 'The international community is facing its greatest challenge since the end of the war and has entered a new era of crisis,' the white paper says. 'The issues ... are particularly pronounced in the Indo-Pacific region, where Japan is located, and are likely to become even more serious in the future.' The report singles out China as 'the greatest strategic challenge Japan has ever faced' and says the global balance of power is dramatically shifting, with competition between nations becoming more apparent. 'In particular, competition between the United States and China is likely to intensify,' it says. Trump pushed that competition into overdrive in his first term, and has continued to do so during the first six months of his latest term. U.S. President Donald Trump holds a joint news conference with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in the East Room of the White House in Washington in February. | REUTERS The white paper also mentions the second Trump White House's early focus on Ukraine, the Middle East and his administration's commitment to Asia while also alluding to the possibility of pronounced shifts in policy. 'U.S. actions will significantly impact the security environment in the Indo-Pacific region, where Japan is located, and will require continued attention,' it says. While Japan has welcomed Washington's pledged commitment to the region, reiterated by U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during a March visit to Tokyo, Trump has also been demanding that the American ally take on more of the burden for its defense in what he has said is their 'one-sided' alliance. Beyond a campaign of unilateral tariffs that threaten to throw regional economies into chaos, the Trump administration has also called for allies — including Japan — to boost defense spending to 5% of their gross domestic product. Japan has committed to a goal of spending 2% of its gross domestic product on defense, laying out a five-year, ¥43 trillion plan in 2022. According to the paper, some 61% of this plan has already been put into action, with defense-related spending in the fiscal year through March 2026 set to total ¥9.9 trillion ($68.4 billion), or 1.8% of GDP in line with 2022 budget standards — a figure that has Japan within striking distance of the 2% target. Moves by the Chinese military in the airspace and waters around Japan have been a driving factor in the push to spend more on defense. A Chinese J-15 fighter jet from the aircraft carrier Shandong makes "an unusual approach" to a Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C patrol aircraft that was conducting surveillance above the Pacific Ocean on June 8. | DEFENSE MINISTRY / VIA AFP-JIJI The white paper notes that the Chinese military is 'stepping up their activities throughout areas surrounding Japan, including the East China Sea around the Senkaku Islands, the Sea of Japan and the western Pacific Ocean, beyond the so-called first-island chain and extending to the second-island chain.' It cites several recent incidents, including the China Coast Guard's deployment of a helicopter in Japan's territorial airspace around the Japanese-controlled, Chinese-claimed Senkakus in May. The white paper also noted a Chinese military aircraft's incursion into Japanese airspace last August and a Chinese aircraft carrier sailing close to Japan's territorial waters the following month — both firsts. Beijing has continued to chip away at precedent in recent months, dispatching both of its active aircraft carriers deep into the western Pacific last month and sending its warplanes near Japanese aircraft multiple times in recent weeks, moves that Tokyo said risked collisions. 'China's active military activities have the potential to seriously affect Japan's security, and this is of grave concern,' the paper says. The report also echoes concerns stated in last year's version about China's designs on self-ruled Taiwan, noting Beijing's ramped-up pace of military activities around the island. The possibility of a 'serious situation' akin to Russia's war in Ukraine occurring in East Asia 'cannot be ruled out,' it said, in a view widely seen as highlighting fears of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. 'As the United States continues to make clear its stance of supporting Taiwan militarily, China — which regards the Taiwan issue as the 'core of its core interests' — is unlikely to compromise, and the conflict between the U.S. and China over the issue may become even more pronounced,' the paper notes. A sailor raises the Maritime Self-Defense Force ensign on board the MSDF's Ise helicopter destroyer as it docks at the international port in Manila on June 21. | AFP-JIJI Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, repeatedly hinted that the U.S. would come to Taiwan's aid in the event of an invasion. Since taking office, however, Trump has largely avoided the issue — though the Pentagon is believed to pushing Japan to make clear the role it would play in the event of a U.S.-China conflict over Taiwan. Tokyo is widely seen as viewing any crisis over Taiwan as an existential crisis for Japan, as well. 'Stability in the situation surrounding Taiwan is important not only for the security of Japan, but also for the stability of the international community, and Japan must continue to monitor the situation with even greater vigilance,' the white paper says. The strong words about one of the most sensitive subjects in the Sino-Japanese relationship are sure to anger China, which calls Taiwan a renegade province that must be unified with the mainland — by force, if necessary. According to the report, Russia's military cooperation with China is another area of 'serious concern.' The partners have conducted joint bomber flights and naval voyages around the archipelago that Tokyo says 'are clearly intended as a demonstration of force against Japan.' Japanese soldiers with a mobile missile launcher that can hit ships more than 160 kilometers away at Camp Katsuren in Okinawa Prefecture on May 23 | Ko Sasaki / The New York Times Russia's growing military ties with North Korea — including Pyongyang's shipment of weapons and deployment of troops for use in the Ukraine conflict — was also noted as a key concern. In addition, the report said, 'there is a risk that Russia may transfer nuclear and missile-related technology to North Korea, which could have a long-term impact on the military balance in the Indo-Pacific.' North Korea was characterized as 'a more serious and imminent threat to Japan's security than ever before,' the white paper said, noting that the country possesses 'the capability to attack Japan by equipping ballistic missiles with nuclear weapons.' In order to tackle these challenges, as well as address any potential fallout from U.S. shifts under Trump, the white paper also concluded that Japan must also collaborate with 'like-minded countries ... in order to counter unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion.' 'It is extremely important to strengthen cooperation not only with allies, but also with as many countries as possible,' the report says.
