Alex Padilla U.S. Senator for California

WATCH: Padilla highlights importance of California’s ports in powering national economy

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) hosted a virtual press call alongside Port of Long Beach Chief Executive Officer Mario Cordero and other West Coast port leaders to sound the alarm on the dramatic decline of container ships making the trip to West Coast ports and the harmful consequences of Trump’s reckless tariffs across the American economy: price hikes, layoffs, empty store shelves, and more. These tariffs will devastate California’s ports, including the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach — which receive 40 percent of the nation’s imports — impacting the entire U.S. economy.

A new forecast by Apollo Global Management contends that the U.S. economy is on the verge of a self-inflicted recession as a result of Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariff policies. Apollo predicts the slowdown of container ships will lead to a sharp decrease in trucking demand by mid-to-late May, which will subsequently result in supply shortages and lower sales for retailers. Apollo predicts layoffs will occur across trucking and retail industries and that the U.S. economy will fall into a recession by this summer.

The West Coast Senators raised serious concerns about these warning signs for the economy and urged their Republican colleagues to join them in asserting Congressional authority over tariffs to put an end to Trump’s trade war and reverse the economic damage already inflicted by the President before it’s too late.

“California’s Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are keystones for the success of not just our state’s economy, but our national economy. So when the San Pedro Bay ports and other West Coast ports send warning signs about the damage of Trump’s tariffs, we know they’re really warning signs for our country,” said Senator Padilla. “The drop in cargo volume caused by Trump’s tariffs will mean empty shelves when products don’t reach our stores, rising prices on everything from groceries to clothes to cars, and undoubtedly, more Americans out of work. While today, it’s Western ports — we know it will only be a matter of weeks before the ripple effect causes pain across the nation.”

“We are already seeing the consequences of Trump’s tariffs at our ports: fewer ships from across the Pacific, means less cargo at our ports, less cargo at our ports means less goods for our truckers to transport—and that ultimately means bare shelves for our retailers and the American consumer,” said Senator Murray. “Our ports know better than anyone that supply chains do not reset in an instant. The time to reverse these Republican tariffs was the same day they were announced. Every day This Republican Congress refuses to reject these tariffs is a day they are actively enabling Trump’s pro-recession agenda and higher taxes on every American. Congress needs to take the matches away from the President who is setting fire to the economy. Democrats are going to make sure Republicans continue to feel the pressure until this Congress takes action and overrides this President.”

“Oregon knows firsthand that Trump’s tariff chaos is already hurting small businesses and drying up markets for red-white-and-blue products,” said Senator Wyden. “Speaking with small businesses and workers all over Oregon last week, every single one warned of damage from tariffs in the near future. West Coast senators will be on the front lines pushing back against these senseless Republican tariffs.”

“As one of America’s largest ports, Long Beach moves more than $300 billion in cargo every year to and from every congressional district, supporting 2.7 million jobs. Due to the new trade policies, we are about to see a shift from cargo surge to cargo slowdown in the supply chain, and this will have a real impact on the American economy. For workers across the country whose jobs depend on cargo moving through the Port of Long Beach – dockworkers, truckers, logistics workers, retailers, farmers, factory workers – any sort of long-term, sustained downturn in shipments caused by the tariff will be detrimental to the job market. I remain hopeful that leaders in our nation’s capital recognize the significance of the goods movement industry and will take necessary action to ensure America’s economy can thrive,” said Mario Cordero, CEO of the Port of Long Beach.

“Cargo volume at the nation’s busiest port will drop by about one-third next week,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director, Gene Seroka. “That means fewer jobs along with rising prices for consumers and businesses. Additionally, counter tariffs are having a severe impact on American agricultural exporters. We need agreements quickly with our trading partners that benefit and support the U.S. economy and supply chain.”

The Port of Los Angeles — the largest port in the United States — expects imports to drop by 35 percent in just two weeks, and the Port of Long Beach expects similar declines.

Senator Padilla is strongly opposed to Trump’s policies that will raise costs across the board for millions of working-class families. During a speech on the Senate floor yesterday, Senator Padilla similarly criticized Trump’s cruel tariffs and their impacts on the San Pedro ports, emphasizing the devastation they will cause American families and the national economy. He supported Senator Wyden’s resolution yesterday to undo Trump’s tariffs, which received Republican support but narrowly failed 49-49 after Vice President Vance’s tiebreaking “no” vote. Padilla also recently proposed a concurrent resolution that would simply demand basic transparency by requiring that any tariff used to offset tax cuts for the wealthy be explicitly written into the Republicans’ partisan budget reconciliation bill.

Senator Padilla has consistently fought to secure federal funding to support and protect California’s nationally leading ports. Last year, he announced that the San Pedro Ports would receive more than $112 million through the FY 2024 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Work Plan for critical construction upgrades and operations and maintenance activities. He has also consistently pushed for funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for California’s ports, including over $283 million for the Port of Long Beach in 2023, $94 million in port infrastructure grant funding in 2022, and over $57 million in 2021.

Video of Senator Padilla’s remarks is available here.

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