[ti:Users of America’s Largest Ports Fear US-China Trade War] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.20]The combined California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach [00:06.00]are the largest in the United States. [00:10.00]An estimated $417 billion worth of goods [00:16.90]pass through the two ports each year. [00:20.96]About $362 billion of that comes from trade with the Asia Pacific area. [00:30.08]But businesses using the ports are expecting a sharp rise in shipping costs [00:39.28]because of tariffs announced by the United States and China. [00:45.30]Liang Liang owns an import company in Los Angeles [00:50.68]that deals mainly with toys and clothes from China. [00:56.23]He told VOA he has had concerns about his business in recent weeks [01:03.28]after hearing about planned tariff increases. [01:07.92]"I have been watching the news every day. [01:11.44]When will the tariffs be put in place? [01:13.59]When are my goods arriving? [01:14.92]It's a fight against time. [01:16.52]I'm trying to order all my products for the rest of the year." [01:20.28]Liang said he expects a 10- to 20-percent increase in shipping costs [01:27.00]if a trade war breaks out between the U.S. and China. [01:33.05]He said if tariffs were to increase more than 20 percent, [01:38.80]he would be forced to raise the prices of his goods. [01:43.72]Stephen Cheung is president of the Los Angeles-based World Trade Center. [01:52.08]The center provides assistance to international companies [01:56.92]seeking to bring or expand operations in the area. [02:02.39]He said that as tariffs from both countries increase the cost of goods, [02:09.80]manufacturers and sellers may order fewer products. [02:15.64]This, Cheung said, would result in a decrease in overall trade [02:22.08]between the U.S. and China. [02:25.11]"Once that happens, you're going to see an increase in the rates for shipping. [02:30.12]Because when you don't have the volume to justify the goods going back and forth, [02:34.52]you are going to see a further increase in that shipping cost." [02:37.76]Cheung said this rise in shipping costs [02:41.64]would eventually result in higher prices for people buying the products. [02:48.35]Other officials at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach [02:53.96]say it is still too early to tell what effect additional trade tariffs will have. [03:01.73]Duane Kenagy is currently deputy director of the Port of Long Beach. [03:09.48]He told VOA that so far, the port has seen record container business this year. [03:17.57]For now, Kenagy is waiting to see how different businesses [03:22.96]change their supply operations to deal with the tariff environment. [03:28.76]But he warned that a continuing trade war could be "devastating" [03:35.72]to both the U.S. and Chinese economies. [03:40.72]President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials have accused China [03:47.60]of carrying out unfair trading practices. [03:52.00]The officials say tariffs are needed to reduce a large trade imbalance. [03:59.26]The United States imported more than $500 billion in Chinese goods last year, [04:08.48]compared to $130 billion in U.S. products exported to China. [04:17.40]Importer Liang Liang remains hopeful that a U.S.-China trade war can be avoided. [04:25.96]He said he thought recent announcements on tariffs [04:29.92]were made for political purposes and may not last. [04:35.76]Stephen Cheung said he understands the reasons the United States [04:41.81]decided to announce heavy tariffs on Chinese imports. [04:47.36]But he urged administration officials to carefully consider [04:53.08]how such changes will affect local importers. [04:58.12]"What are the steps you're going to use to mitigate some of these damages [05:04.72]that will be happening to the local community? [05:08.56]These are huge issues that have not been addressed yet," he said. [05:14.92]I'm Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM