Port of Cleveland Sess Less Cargo Under Steel Tariffs

The port is just one of the many downstream industries that are bearing the cost of the tariffs.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Trump administration's steel tariffs have helped steel companies bolster profit, but, it comes at the cost of other businesses, like the Port of Cleveland. 

“You don’t see as many ships, and the ships that do come in are carrying a little less cargo each time, compared to past years,” said Dave Gutheil, the Port of Cleveland’s Chief Operating Officer. “Right now, in total, we’re down between 15 to 20% compared to 2024.”

In 2024, the port moved 363,000 metric tons of cargo. This year, they’re expected to move only 300,000 metric tons of cargo, which is a 60,000 metric ton drop. 

“The tariff situation that’s been in place for a number of months has affected our volume from a negative standpoint,” Gutheil said.

In June, President Donald Trump imposed additional tariffs on steel using Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. 

“We are going to be imposing a 25% increase,” Trump said. “We’re going to bring it from 25% to 50%—the tariffs on steel into the United States of America—which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States.”

Case Western Reserve University Business Law Professor Juscelino Colares said the goal of steel tariffs is to eliminate a reliance on foreign steel. He said there are pro and con tariff arguments. 

“The United States does not want to be in a position where it would be unable to meet demand for national defense and critical infrastructure in a national emergency,” the White House wrote in a brief explaining Trump’s steel tariffs.

Colares explained the administration’s thinking. 

“What happens to skills?” Colares said. “What happens to our capacity to produce submarines, to our capacity to produce ships, to our capacity to actually have a North American auto industry? These are all questions that need to be answered.”

Most people agree that tariffs have benefitted the steel industry. However, it’s the downstream effects of the tariffs that are drawing concern. At the Port of Cleveland, that looks like less cargo, which translates to fewer job opportunities. 

“The guys who are working ships, when the ships come in and discharging the cargo, they have not had nearly as many hours as they have in the past,” Gutheil said. 

The port is just one of the many downstream industries that are bearing the cost of the tariffs.

“It takes at least a year and a half before you see foreign direct investment coming in,” Colares said. “That will take some time, but it will happen. And it’s just that the cost seems to come first.”

Tariff supporters hope the cost will be worth it, both for national security and for the American industry.

Courtesy: www.spectrumnews1.com