Long Beach complains about Canadian investment
Canadian ports such as Vancouver, above, get government subsides that violate rules of the World Trade Organization, letting them undercut prices and decrease cargo volume at US facilities, according to a California port official, the National Post reported.
Competition from Canada is partly to blame for a drop in freight of about 40 percent at the Port of Long Beach, Jim Hankla, president of the port's board, said in Washington.
"We're playing Paul Revere on this, but it's the Canadians, not the British who are coming," Hankla said.
He and other port officials were set to raise the issue at a meeting with the US Trade Representative's office .
Long Beach, the second-largest port in the United States, had fewer than 200,000 cargo containers imported through its terminals in April, down from a peak of 348,000 in August, 2006.
Import volumes for the first four months of this year are off 23 percent from the same period a year ago.
While most of the drop is a result of the global recession, the Canadian investments have diverted some cargo away from US ports, Hankla said.
Competition from Canada is partly to blame for a drop in freight of about 40 percent at the Port of Long Beach, Jim Hankla, president of the port's board, said in Washington.
"We're playing Paul Revere on this, but it's the Canadians, not the British who are coming," Hankla said.
He and other port officials were set to raise the issue at a meeting with the US Trade Representative's office .
Long Beach, the second-largest port in the United States, had fewer than 200,000 cargo containers imported through its terminals in April, down from a peak of 348,000 in August, 2006.
Import volumes for the first four months of this year are off 23 percent from the same period a year ago.
While most of the drop is a result of the global recession, the Canadian investments have diverted some cargo away from US ports, Hankla said.