The US Airforwarders Association (AfA) has said the mass implementation of tariffs has caused instability and hit the forwarding industry.
Speaking at the CNS Partnership Conference, the association’s executive director, Brandon Fried, said the US government should freeze tariffs, not trade, after US president Donald Trump introduced a series of tariffs on countries around the world as part of efforts to reduce trade imbalances.
“We understand that these tariffs were initially set to balance the trade deficit of foreign goods entering the US and that tariffs are a commonplace mechanism of international trade,” said Fried.
“The instability caused, however, by mass tariff implementation, negotiation, and bilateral agreements, as well as inevitable disputes over high rates, has hit our industry, and we need to freeze tariffs, not our ability to trade.
“The expertise of our forwarders is being put to the test, as we are having to find solutions that can be obsolete in a matter of days or weeks.”
He added that the country also needed to invest in infrastructure and security.
“Our ability to trade is crucial in today’s geopolitical landscape, and the US transportation and logistics sector has always been a proud partner of U.S. industry, delivering our import and export capabilities globally.
“We are ready to work with the Trump administration to support this and, most importantly, to make sure the US is open for business, both domestically and internationally.”
Fried speech comes as the US and China agreed to a 90-day partial suspension of their trade war, which had seen tariffs between the two countries rise to more than 100% and duties added for e-commerce shipments.
After a weekend of talks, the two sides announced that tariffs imposed since 2 April, which amounted to 125% for imports into the two countries, would mostly be suspended, with a 10% rate remaining from each side.
The duty paid for de minimis shipments – mostly e-commerce parcels – will also be reduced to 54% (or a flat fee of $100) from the previous level of 120%.
The US will also continue to apply the 20% tariff rate it introduced earlier in the year related to the fentanyl crisis.
This means US tariffs on Chinese imports will now stand at 30% while Beijing’s tariffs on goods from the US will stand at 10%.