Even though the 145% tariff on Chinese imports only lasted a month, it already inflicted its scars on the economy. Global trade is just not something you can turn off and on like that. Some companies got really unlucky. Like those whose goods arrived at U.S. ports before the pause. If a medium size company had a million dollars worth of goods imported, they had to pay an extra million and a half dollars on top of that – just for the tariff. Today we are bringing you a portrait of this unfathomably high tariff. What a month of 145% tariffs looked like and felt like for three people in the global economy whose lives were all affected and still will be. The ones who got lucky and the ones who got really unlucky. This episode of Planet Money was produced by Emma Peaslee and edited by Jess Jiang. It was engineered by Jimmy Keeley and fact-checked by Willa Rubin. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer. Check out the live cargo map here. Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter. Listen free at these links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts. Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney. Music: NPR Source Audio - "Bass Talks," "Bassline Motion," and "What Da Funk"Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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The first ships with the 145% tariffed goods from China had just started pooling into U.S. ports last week when, just a few days later, the U.S. announced that that mind-bendingly high tariff was now gone, paused. The U.S. and China agreed to temporarily bring the tariff way, way, way back down from 145% on most Chinese imports to 30%.
though the tariff on things like cars and steel and aluminum is higher, about 50%. And, you know, the deal came pretty quickly after talks in Geneva, and it was maybe unexpected or maybe not at all unexpected because the 145% tariff on China and China's retaliatory tariff on the U.S. was already threatening a global recession.
And in all the tit-for-tat back and forth, some companies caught really hard. unlucky, like those whose goods arrived at U.S. ports before the pause. If a medium-sized company had a million dollars worth of goods imported, they had to pay an extra million and a half dollars on top of that just in the tariff.
And had their ships arrived, like, a day later, their bill would be punched to the gut so much less. And even though this unprecedented tariff only lasted a month, it already inflicted its scars on the economy. Today on the show, what a month of 145% tariffs looked like and felt like for three people in the global economy whose lives were all affected and still will be.
We'll start at the biggest port in the Western Hemisphere. Yes, hi. Nice to meet you. Oh, in a suit at the port on a 93-degree day. This is the uniform. Well, when you run the port, yeah, that's the uniform. Gene Sirocco runs the Port of Los Angeles, an 45% of everything that comes into this port is from China.
So half, half of the business. Half of the business.
When we met up, the big, scary 145% tariff was still in place. Are you, like, stressed? Are you doing okay? How are you feeling?
I'm doing okay, but I am concerned.
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