Blue wave, same tariffs
Although Democrats have won control of both chambers of Congress, major changes to freight security are unlikely, given strong bipartisan agreement. Tariffs are also expected to remain largely in place, as reversing them would…
US Democrats swept the House and the Senate on 3rd November, flipping seats long thought safe from Texas to South Carolina. For air freight, the early answer to what changes is: far less than the headlines suggest.
Few people in the industry know Washington better than Brandon Fried. For 21 years as head of the Airforwarders Association (AfA), he worked with Congress and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on behalf of forwarders, and handed the reins to Steve Smith on the day the votes were called. Asked whether a change of majority changes the room, he drew a line. On regulation, he said, both parties have different instincts. On security, they don’t. “I’ve dealt with both sides on freight security,” he told ACW, “and I find the Dems and the Republicans almost in lockstep when it comes to keeping the country safe.”
The sector wants a steady hand more than a reversal. Mammen Tharakan, the new Director General of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA), said in a statement that what matters “is a predictable trading environment, efficient customs processes and ongoing investment in the infrastructure that keeps air freight moving”.
His predecessor, Glyn Hughes, put tariffs at the top of the worry list at the Air Cargo Forum in Miami last week, alongside “geopolitical tensions, conflict zones, the price of fuel or consumer discretionary spend going down”. “Everything that impacts the global economy impacts air cargo,” he said.
This story was originally published by Air Cargo Week. Read the full story at Air Cargo Week →
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