Thursday, February 6, 2025
spot_img
HomeBusiness21st Century ChallengesTrump’s First Week So Far: What It Means for Shipping and Trade

Trump’s First Week So Far: What It Means for Shipping and Trade

President Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second nonconsecutive presidential term on Monday, after being out of power the last four years. The first week of Trump’s second presidency, so far, has been filled with a flurry of executive orders. What has President Trump done that will affect shipping, the supply chain, and trade?

Tariffs

President Trump campaigned on the reimplementation and strengthening of tariffs. In his first term, Trump initiated trade wars with several countries, most prominently China. Now, he has laid the groundwork for a new round of tariffs.

Although Trump stopped short of implementing any tariffs on day one, he put Canada and Mexico – two of the U.S.’s largest trading partners – on notice over potential tariffs. As part of his announcement on tariffs, President Trump stated his intention to work out a revised trade deal with each of the U.S.’s bordering nations and said he would not hesitate to implement tariffs against them as early as next month if negotiations do not begin.

Trade Relations with China

On day one of his new presidency, President Trump announced that he wants to visit China and discuss trade relations directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping. During his first presidency, a trade war with China strained U.S.-China relations. With the Covid outbreak that took place in early 2020, Trump’s battles with China on the economy were forgotten by many. Now, the question is how far he will take the trade back-and-forth as Trump seeks to improve U.S. bargaining power on Chinese-made goods and imports into the U.S.

Meeting with the Saudis to Discuss Trade

This week, President Trump spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. A big topic of that conversation was Saudi investment into trade and development with the U.S. In fact, Saudi Arabia pledged to spend up to $600 billion over the next six years on growing its trade and economic activity with the U.S. Many of the funds would go to increasing manufacturing supply chains in the U.S. and AI-based infrastructure and supply chains in the U.S.

As President Trump continues the beginning of his second presidency, we will keep you posted on further developments on the shipping, trade, and supply chain fronts.

RELATED ARTICLES

Latest News