How will the Port of Baltimore be impacted by new tariffs on imports?
As President Donald Trump rolled out a new sweeping round of tariffs on imports on Wednesday, dockworkers in Baltimore are bracing for the long-term effects and wondering if shipments will slow down in the months ahead.
Trump announces new reciprocal tariffs
The president signed an executive order on Wednesday that would impose reciprocal tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners, which includes roughly 60 countries, along with a baseline 10% universal levy on all U.S. trading partners.
A reciprocal tariff is a tax on U.S. imports that matches the duties that other countries charge on American exports, according to CBS News.
"Reciprocal. That means they do it to us and we do it to them," Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump shared a chart called "reciprocal tariffs" that appeared to show the tariffs other countries impose on the U.S. and what the U.S. plans to institute on those countries. The president said the United States would charge a 34% tax on imports from China, 20% from the European Union, South Korea 25%, Vietnam 46%, Taiwan 32%, Japan 24%, and more.
The president also called for a baseline tariff of 10% on all countries. Mr. Trump said the tariffs would help "rebuild our economy and to prevent cheating."
In the audience for the president's announcement were rank-and-file steelworkers and auto workers, as well as most of Mr. Trump's Cabinet, including Vice President JD Vance, two White House officials told CBS News.
The 25% tariffs the president has announced on foreign cars and foreign auto parts are set to go into effect at midnight.
The Trump administration believes these tariffs will bring jobs back to the U.S. and generate revenue.
Impact on the Port of Baltimore
Scott Cowan, the president of The International Longshoremen's Association Local 333, a union that represents thousands of port workers in Baltimore, told WJZ there are ships already on their way to the port, so this won't impact work short term.
However, if American companies and customers stop buying imports, fewer products will flow through Baltimore's port, thus limiting the number of available dock jobs.
"It's not something that's going to happen overnight," Cowan said. "I'm curious to see, and I hope it doesn't impact us too much with cars being one of our main staples."
The longshoremen just negotiated a new contract with a bump in pay and benefits. Cowan says his members won't be able to feel those changes in their wallets if there's a reduction in cargo. However, there will still be jobs, unlike when the port was shuttered after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in 2024.
"We must have the cargo here to produce the man-hours to get paid. It could be bad, but it's not going to be that bad," Cowan said.
The Maryland Port Administration did not speak with WJZ on camera, but instead issued the following statement:
"The Port of Baltimore handled the second-most cars and light trucks of any U.S. port in 2024, and a majority of those vehicles were imports."
"We handled about 750,000 cars and light trucks last year, with approximately 641,000 of them being imports."
"As with other cargos, ultimately any tariff impacts are dependent on if shippers want to reduce or stop shipping into the United States during times of active tariffs."
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has already taken aim at the Trump administration as the state faces a $3 billion budget deficit and the threat of federal jobs leaving the state.
"The President has launched a reckless trade war," Gov. Wes Moore said during his budget announcement in March. "Those tariffs could mean over $2 billion impact on our economy and directly harm our people."
A local trucking company told WJZ that the potential impacts on transportation are unknown. This company says it isn't reliant on Chinese shipments but is concerned about potential tariffs on European goods. They say a decrease in imports is concerning, and they face customers who will ultimately foot the bill.
CBS News contributed to this story.
