The “surprising view” faced by the largest ports in the US. “This is not the case in the pandemic. We might see empty shelves.”

On Friday morning, ports on the West Coast of the US reported for CNN about a surprising view: in the last 12 hours, no goods have left China with goods for the two major ports on the West Coast. This has not happened since the appearance of the pandemic.

Six days ago, 41 ships were scheduled to leave China for San Pedro Bay Complex, which includes both Los Angeles and Long Beach port in California. Friday, it was zero.

President Donald Trump's commercial war has imposed massive rates for most Chinese imports last month. This led to a decrease in the number of sea ships carrying less goods to American ports. For many companies, it is now too expensive to do business with China, one of America's most important trading partners.

Officials are worried not only the lack of ships leaving China, but also the speed with which this number has dropped.

“A reason for alarm”

“This is an alarm reason,” said Mario Cordero, the general manager of the Long Beach port. “We now see figures that go beyond what we have seen during the pandemic” for cancellations and fewer arrivals.

The busiest ports in the US are facing steep decreases in the volume of merchandise. The Long Beach port records a decrease of 35-40% compared to the normal volume of goods. The port of Los Angeles registered a 31% drop in the volume this week, and the port of New York and Jersey says it is also preparing for a slowdown. On Wednesday, Port Seattle said he had no container ship in the port, another anomaly that did not happen from the pandemic.

Commercial representatives of the US and China are about to meet in Geneva, Switzerland, this weekend for their first face -to -face meeting, in an attempt to relax the commercial war. Most China shipped goods in the United States have a 145%rate, while most American exports to China are affected by a 125%rate. On Friday, President Donald Trump suggested the reduction of the tariff with China to 80%, but said the final terms will be set by the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent.

For consumers, who are experiencing higher prices or shortage of certain products, Cordero says that an agreement cannot come quickly enough.

“If things do not change rapidly, I mean the uncertainty we see, then we might see empty products on the shelves. This will be felt by consumers in the next 30 days,” said Cordero.