Shipping
Expert: Trump-Zölle can meet ports
Aluminum, steel and cars: The US President always threatens new tariffs. If these become effective, the envelope of the big German ports can also suffer, an expert estimates.
Shipping expert Burkhard Lemper considers the impact of US tariffs on German ports possible. If EU products are actually occupied by tariffs, at least ports with significant US traffic, said Lemper, who heads the Institute for Sea Transport Management and Logistics in Bremen. Reduced growth rates or losses of the commercial volume are possible.
The extent can hardly be determined in advance, Lemper told the German Press Agency. So far, it is unclear whether imports could be replaced with local production and the demand is due to the price increases. In shipping, trade restrictions between the United States and the rest of the world worked primarily on global shipping companies
Bremerhaven is particularly connected to the USA in container traffic, but Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven also have connections, as Lemper explains.
According to statistics from Bremenports, the USA was the most important trading partner of the Bremen ports in container traffic with a share of around 17 percent (2023). In Hamburg, the proportion was around 8.8 percent (2024), as can be seen from the figures from Hamburg Hafen Marketing. There were no data on Wilhelmshaven.
Customs as a negotiation tactic
Trump always uses customs threats as a negotiation tactic. Existing tariffs to Chinese goods are said to double from ten to 20 percent today, and tariffs against Mexico and Canada come into force of 25 percent. Steel and aluminum imports are to be occupied with tariffs of 25 percent. Customs in this height also threatened Trump on EU imports.
dpa
Source: Stern
