LA, Long Beach lawmakers hit Trump over China tariffs

Local congressional representatives, whose districts include the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, delivered scathing rebukes over against the tariffs they said threaten the nation’s economy with rising prices and falling wages on Friday afternoon, May 9.

“President Trump’s tariffs are causing major damage and chaos to the economy,” said U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, adding that the damage is impacting the “entire country.”

He was joined by U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-San Pedro; Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson; Port of Long Beach Chief Operating Officer Noel Hacegaba; and Maria John, director of E&S International Logistics. The press conference took place at POLB’s headquarters in downtown Long Beach.

While President Donald Trump recently suggested bringing the 145% tariffs with China down to 80%, that is still way too high, said Garcia, who is co-chair of the Congressional Ports Opportunity, Renewal, Trade and Security Caucus. Anything above 20% is too high, he added.

The president will participate in discussions this weekend, but so far the 145% tariff remains.

“80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B,” Trump said in a social media post Friday morning, referring to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

“China should open up its market to usa,” Trump said in a separate, all-caps post. “Would be so good for them!!! closed markets don’t work anymore!!!”

But the possibility of lower tariffs seemed to suggest a reason for optimism, according to Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero.

“Talk of lowering the U.S. tariff on Chinese products is an indication the administration is moving to work out the trade issues with China and come to an understanding,” Cordero said in a Thursday, May 8, statement. “This bears out why I’ve been rationally optimistic that we will eventually have solution that satisfies all parties and avoids a full-scale trade. Now we wait and see.”

Dockworkers and truck drivers, meanwhile, are seeing work shifts, and paychecks dwindle and consumers across the country face high prices, the speakers during the press conference said.

“It’s quite humiliating,” Barragán said of Trump’s attempts at “backpedaling” on the tariffs as China made no effort to make a move.

The tariffs will result in higher prices for everyone across the country, Richardson said.

“These are taxes,” Richardson added.

Hacegaba noted that blank sailings are rising at the Port of Long Beach and spot shortages of goods will soon be evident by consumers in stores.

It all follows record-breaking container numbers through the first months of 2025.

Importers are struggling with the back-and-forth information that has the industry trying to deal with a “domino effect,” John said.

“It’s very frustrating,” she said.

Barragán said Congress tried to overthrow national emergency legislation that enacted the tariffs but Republicans outnumbered Democrats and the effort failed.

And while the entire country will suffer from the impacts of the tariffs, Garcia added, it will be the port communities of Long Beach and Los Angeles that will take the hardest hits.

“Let me crystal clear,” he said. “Our communities and our workers” will feel the impacts most.

Barragán mentioned talking with the owner of the Sirens Java and Tea coffee house in downtown San Pedro, where many dockworkers go, who told her she was faced with either raising the price of her coffee or trying to absorb the higher prices in her small business.

And truck drivers trying to support working their families also are feeling the hit, Richardson said.

Bloomberg contributed to this report.