SAN PEDRO: At the Port of Los Angeles, the frenetic choreography of cranes unloading containers from Asia has slowed to a tiptoe, and the noise of the busiest docks in the US is quieting.
“You could hear a pin drop, it’s very unusual,” Port Director Gene Seroka told AFP.
By this unofficial barometer, the American economy faces slowdown under US President Donald Trump amid his trade war with China.
Along with the next-door Port of Long Beach, the area represents the biggest gateway in the United States for goods from China and the rest of Asia.
That has made it among the first victims to a burgeoning crisis threatening to disrupt the lives of millions of Americans.
Trump’s on-again-off-again tariffs — and the retaliation launched by other countries — has cowed importers, whose usual orders for furniture, toys, and clothing have dwindled.
For the week of May 4, the Port of Los Angeles will receive up to 35 percent less cargo compared with the same period last year, Seroka said.
The Port of Long Beach says for the entire month of May it is expecting a 30 percent drop in imports.
Dozens of ships have canceled their voyages to these ports.
“Many retailers and manufacturers alike have hit the pause button, stopping all shipments from China,” said Seroka.
The Asian manufacturing giant is the hardest hit by Trump’s tariffs, with levies as high as 145 percent on some goods. Sales of Chinese goods to the US last year totaled more than $500 billion, according to Beijing.
And while sales may not be going up this year, prices undoubtedly will.
“Effectively, the cost of a product made in China now is two and a half times more expensive than it was just last month,” said Seroka.
Trump last month announced a range of differing tariffs against nearly all countries in the world — including an island populated mostly by penguins — using a formula that baffled economists.
He reversed course a few days later and left a blanket 10 percent rate against most of the planet.
That extra cost, which is paid by the importer of a product, not by the seller, will affect trade across the United States.
“This is not just a West Coast issue,” warned Long Beach Port Director Mario Cordero.
“It affects every port, whether it’s in the East or in the Gulf” of Mexico, which Trump has decreed should be known as the Gulf of America.
At the start of the year, Long Beach and Los Angeles saw American companies scurry to get ahead of tariffs that Trump promised on the campaign trail.
Cargo volumes surged as they tried to build up as much untaxed inventory as possible.
But as the tariffs begin to bite, they will undoubtedly hold buying to eat into that inventory.
Without a reversal from the White House that would re-open the trade spigot, that could mean shortages that consumers will start to notice, and soon, according to Seroka.
“American importers, especially in the retail sector, are telling me that they have about five to seven weeks of normal inventory on hand today,” he said.
“If this trade dispute goes on for any length of time, we’ll likely see fewer selections on store shelves and online buying platforms.
“The impact on American consumers will be less choice and higher prices,” he said.
“The American consumer is going to get hit right in the wallet.”


For Antonio Montalbo, one of the 900,000 logistics workers in Southern California, the ordeal has already begun.
As the owner of a small trucking company, he needs to replace the starter on one of his vehicles; the part, made in China, now costs twice as much.
Trump has “created a hostile environment at the port for the drivers,” says the 37-year-old.
“We’re angry at Donald Trump. He needs to go check out the country a little bit, because he has a lot of angry truck drivers.
“It seems like he doesn’t care about the public or the working class.”
Between skyrocketing maintenance costs and the fall-off in work, he estimates he could be laying off staff within six months.
Montalbo says he voted for Trump last November because he was fed up with inflation, and trusted him to fix the economy.
“I thought that he was a businessman.
“Now we have something worse than inflation, called tariffs.”

A playdate between the world’s tallest and smallest living dogs went the way of most dog park encounters despite the 3-foot (0.91-meter) height difference — lots of tail wagging, sniffing and scampering.
Reginald, a 7-year-old Great Dane from Idaho, and Pearl, a chihuahua from Florida, are both certified winners in their respective height titles by Guinness World Records. The fact that Reginald is the size of a small horse and Pearl is as small as an apple didn’t stop them from getting along famously.
Pearl, a 4-year-old who stands at 3.59 inches (9.14 centimeters), comes from a long line of short dogs. Her aunt Millie, a previous record-holder in the same category, until she died in 2020, also was under 4 inches (10.16 centimeters) tall.

Both Millie and Pearl weighed 1 ounce (28.35 grams) at birth.
“I was not expecting to once again have the record,” said Vanesa Semler of Orlando, Florida, owner of both tiny dogs. “That would be like unbelievable.”
Guinness arranged the two-day meet up between Pearl and Reginald — who also goes by Reggie and measures in at a whopping 3-foot-3 (1 meter) — last month at his home in Idaho Falls.
Even though Pearl loves dogs, even big dogs, Semler said she was anxious because of Reginald’s size.
“For me, (it) was a huge, pleasant surprise from day one because Reggie is like Pearl, in bigger size,” she said. “He is so gentle, so friendly.”
Reggie, for his part, might have been more interested in the Guinness film crew that accompanied Pearl than the tiny dog herself.
“I would say he likes people a little bit more than he likes other dogs,” said Sam Johnson Reiss, his owner.

Pearl’s tiny size was also strange for the big boy.
“He was like very cautious, like a little anxious,” Reiss said. “He was very careful, like he didn’t step on her or anything or anything crazy. He was just very aware that she was there.”
Reggie’s super size was evident early on, especially on a dog park visit when he towered over other Great Danes despite being only 9 months old.
“They would be shorter than him, and they were like full-grown,” Reiss said.
There might have been a little jealousy shown over toys and beds, but Reggie and Pearl found common ground during their two days roaming the Idaho farm together.
“I think she found a good friend,” Semler said.

Semler said Pearl is her prima donna, with the chihuahua even picking out the clothes she wants to wear every day by placing her paw on the outfits laid out before her. That comes in handy when news crews are lining up for interviews.
“For us, she was always our diva,” Semler said. “Now she’s a diva for everyone.”
Pearl doesn’t have the top diva title quite yet, with Reiss saying Reggie — who has a new Instagram account — has his own diva moments.
“He’s pretty high maintenance,” Reiss said. “Reggie’s just cheeky, like he’s kind of mischievous and silly and definitely tells you when he wants something.”