The trade war which has been sparked by the new US administration is set to have an impact in dry bulk trade flows. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Banchero Costa commented that "the new government of the USA appears serious in its intention to spark trade wars with many of the country's major trading partners. President Donald Trump’s new 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada took effect on the 4th of March 2025.along with a doubling of duties on Chinese goods to 20%. Tariffs of 25% on the EU are reportedly also being considered by the American government, Both the Canadian and Chinese governments immediately announced retaliatory measures on American exports, China announced 15% tariffs on chicken. Wheat, corn and cotton, as well as 10% duties on soybeans, sorghum, pork, beef and dairy products among other agricultural produce, starting next Monday, according to a statement published by the Ministry of Finance.

Meanwhile, according to the shipbroker's report, "china also halted soybean imports from three Us entities: CHS Inc., Louis Dreyfus Company Grains Merchandising LLC and EGT LLC, its General Administration of Customs said in a notice late Tuesday. China also suspended log imports from the Us, the government said in a separate statement, citing pests found in shipments".

"In an attempt to quantify the impact on dry bulk shipping from the upcoming trade wars, it is useful to have a picture of current trade patterns from and into the USA. in Jan-Dec 2024, total seaborne exports of dry bulk commodities from the USA reached 308.7 mln t. This included 90.6 mln tonnes of coal, 83.6 mln t of grains, 42.8mln t of soybeans and soybean meal, 35.2 mln t of petcoke, 12.8 mln t of forest products, 12.7 min t of fertilizers China was the destination of 17.0% of dry bulk exports from the UsA, with the EU accounting for 11.5%, japan9.3%, India 9.0%, Mexico 5.4%, Canada 5.3%, Brazil 5.2%. Therefore, China with the EU, Canada and Mexico together account for 39.2% of all USA seaborne dry bulk exports.

In terms of dry bulk imports, the total discharged in the USA in Jan Dec 2024 was 121.3 mln tonnes. This included 21.3 mln to of steel products, 16.1 mln of cement, 13.7 mln of fertilizers, 8.6 mln of salt, 6.3 mln of gypsum, 5.5mln t of iron ore. in terms of sources, 15.4% of imports into the USA were shipped from Brazil, 15.0% from Canada, 11.5% from the EU, 7.3% from Turkey, 3.8% from Mexico. Therefore, Canada plus Mexico and the EU together account for 3o.3% of all dry bulk imports into the USA", Banchero Costa concluded.

Source: Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide