Container ships carrying tons of cargo file into the Port of Seattle each day, bringing goods from Asia across the Pacific Ocean. But TikToker MossyMatriarch posted from Washington state on Monday, saying the tariffs may have pushed paused on port traffic.
“There are no international ships at the shipping ports in Seattle right now and the last one is scheduled for the 29th. That means that major supply chain issues are gonna start happening,” the creator said in the video.
Kate Nolan, spokesperson for the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), told Newsweek that while they are seeing increases in numbers of ships year-over-year, the number of cargo containers has dropped. The NWSA includes the ports of Seattle and Tacoma.
“We are seeing some vessels coming in with less cargo than anticipated, and we are hearing from exporters and importers directly on canceled orders, especially with China, Nolan said in an email. “These impacts are real and will likely be reflected in our data in the coming months.”
Courtesy of the Hutchinson family/Ted S. Warren
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump introduced tariffs on multiple countries, including China and other Asian economic powerhouses, as part of his overall economic plan, saying that this would strengthen the U.S. economy.
In March, Trump announced 10 percent tariffs of imports and even larger “reciprocal tariffs” for other countries he accused of unfair trade practices, including China, the third-largest U.S. trading partner, which faces up to 145 percent tariffs.
What To Know
In the nearly two-minute video, the user says that the tariffs will not only impact the everyday consumer but the overall economy in the region.
“Shelves are gonna empty and we aren’t going to be able to get those things back very quickly,” MossyMatriarch said. “And prices are gonna go up like crazy, small businesses, large businesses, all sorts of people that rely on imports and exports are gonna see huge changes and not for the better really soon.”
Nolan said that there was a brief increase in port traffic in March because importers anticipated tariff impacts.
“We saw an 18.4 percent increase in volumes in March across the gateway, 24 percent increase in international volumes, partially driven by shippers advancing cargo before anticipated tariffs,” she said.
Fears of product and food shortages are big topics on TikTok following the implementation of the tariffs, with users creating content like tips on what to buy and items they should stock up on.
There are currently only six vessels berthed at both ports, three at each, according to Nolan. MarineVesselTraffic.com shows the vessels but does not list how many containers or what type of goods they carry.
What People Are Saying
Kate Nolan, spokesperson for the Northwest Seaports Alliance: “We remain concerned about the impacts of tariffs and other trade policies on our gateway. Any trade policies that limit trade and investment should be used as a measure of last resort and tariffs should be thoroughly researched and narrowly targeted, qualities that do not apply to the current tariffs. In the first round of tariffs we saw some agricultural export markets decimated, such as apples, and these markets have never fully recovered.”
MossyMatriarch closed the TikTok video by saying: “So if there are some essentials that you need, get those. But also remember shop local, support your neighbors and if you need to give money to somebody to get something, support the people in this area that need it during this time because this is going to hit us financially so hard. Like, the consequences are hard to even, like, picture. It’s so huge so prepare as you need to.”
What Happens Next
Nolan says they have 15 more international container vessels scheduled to arrive at the ports by May 5, with nine scheduled to arrive in Seattle. The 15 include 12 from Chinese ports.
Another 16 vessels are scheduled to arrive from overseas between the May 5 and 12, Nolan added.
