SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
While the federal government is shut down, more than a million federal workers are going without pay, but some are still working. That includes most customs officials at ports nationwide because they're considered essential workers. At the same time, the Trump administration's tariffs are creating tremendous uncertainty for companies that rely on those ports to do business. Houston Public Media's Andrew Schneider reports on how the combination of tariffs and shutdown is creating problems for many companies that rely on the Port of Houston.
(SOUNDBITE OF TRUCK BEEPING)
ANDREW SCHNEIDER, BYLINE: The Port of Houston handles more exports by total value than any other port in the country. The imports it handles, like industrial equipment and electrical machinery, drive Texas-based manufacturing. All that trade supports a lot of jobs, more than 3 million nationwide from all the states that ship through the port. But it also depends on a clear understanding of things like wait times at ports to process goods coming into the country.
ED EMMETT: If the delay is a matter of hours, that's one thing. If the delay becomes days, then that gets to be more difficult.
SCHNEIDER: That's Ed Emmett of Rice University's Baker Institute. Emmett says customs officials are still coming into work.
EMMETT: Like the air traffic controllers, though, they won't be getting paid. So at some point, you know, that could get to be an issue.
SCHNEIDER: NPR reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to ask if they have seen an uptick in staff shortages among customs workers, but have not heard back on that topic. If those customs officials start calling in sick, it will mean longer delays for processing imported goods, and that costs money. Emmett says even before the shutdown, wait times at the Port of Houston were growing longer because of the Trump administration's tariffs. Texas Senator John Cornyn, a Republican, spoke in favor of Trump's tariffs policies in April at a hearing with U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JOHN CORNYN: We've exported manufacturing to Asia and particularly China and other countries that now appear to be willing to hold us hostage to those supply chains.
SCHNEIDER: Yet some regional companies are being forced to rethink or delay major investments. Chad Burke is president and CEO of the Economic Alliance, Houston Port Region.
CHAD BURKE: Specific example would be a gasket company that's a member of ours that's looking to do some expansion. Well, their input costs of raw materials doubled in a very short time.
SCHNEIDER: But imports are only half of the equation. Houston is also a leading departure point for exports. And as the U.S. slaps tariffs on other countries' trade goods, some are retaliating.
BURKE: Depending on where those are going and what those tariffs are, companies in other countries begin to do the same thing that we see from our own companies here that are importing goods from China.
SCHNEIDER: Or they can stop buying American goods altogether. Case in point, China has stopped buying liquefied natural gas exports from the U.S. in response to the tariffs. That's bad news for Texas, which is the country's second largest exporter of LNG after Louisiana. Margaret Kidd, president of the Houston Maritime Center and Museum, says those hits to exports and imports will wind up affecting real people.
MARGARET KIDD: As we see container traffic decline, that's going to impact dock workers and truck drivers and warehouse workers. So, you know, anyone that touches freight is going to be hurt, and at some point, you'll see lost jobs.
SCHNEIDER: A group of U.S. small businesses is suing to challenge the legality of Trump's tariffs. The U.S. Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments in the case in November. For NPR News, I'm Andrew Schneider in Houston.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.