Tariffs boost 'hamburger route' trade, conference hears

AUSTRALIAN exporters have been among the beneficiaries of Trumpian tariffs, a prominent maritime economist says.

Executive advisor for GHD Maritime Economics, Guy Reynolds, discussed the beef trade, noting the combination of tariffs on beef from Brazil and Americans’ voracious appetite for burgers meant Australia was still exporting large volumes.

Trump has imposed a 10% tariff on Australian goods, including beef, compared with Brazil which received a 40% tariff in addition to a 10% tariff that was already in place. 

“In the shipping trade to the US, we call it the ‘hamburger route, we're actually doing pretty well,” Mr Reynolds told the Ports Australia BizOps conference in Gladstone.

“Some of that is because of what's happened to Brazil, high tariffs with them as well as issues with domestic supply, so we’re actually doing really well,” he said.

“We've actually had an all-time record shipment level back in July to the [USA} of 35,000 tonnes of meat, of beef.”

Mr Reynolds said that the US was, overall, a minor trading partner with Australia based mainly around agriculture.

Meanwhile a rearguard action from the US cruise sector against overzealous migration policies ensured people were still able to cruise popular destinations such as Hawaii, Florida or Alaska.

Good for the US cruise sector, less so for their Australian counterparts who might have hoped to collect some new clientele.

Mr Reynolds said with many container shipping lines avoiding the Red Sea and sailing around the Cape of Good Hope, any extra surface tonnage or oversupply was being absorbed.

The BizOps conference has brought together industry leaders from across Australia, as well as the Solomon Islands and Fiji.

Sessions have focused on energy, sustainability and feats of engineering aimed at powering the Australian ports sector into the second half of the 21^st Century.