Hapag-Lloyd says it can cope with U.S.-China tariffs

By Elke Ahlswede

HAMBURG, Germany (Reuters) - Container shipping liner Hapag-Lloyd will be able to cope with the advent of U.S. tariffs on Chinese products, its chief executive told reporters on Tuesday.

"It is too early to push the panic button," CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said in the remarks published on Wednesday, when additional 10% tariffs kicked in, and made before U.S. President Donald Trump proposed that his country to take over the Gaza Strip.

"Fortunately we are able to react when transport flows change," he said, adding foreseeable events were easier to handle than the unexpected ones, such as the Red Sea crisis when the Iran-backed Houthi militants launched attacks on vessels passing the Suez Canal in November 2023.

The tariffs imposed by Trump on China so far should not change the flow of goods too much, said Habben Jansen, who heads the world’s fifth-biggest container company. In Trump’s first term between 2017 and 2021, he also applied tariffs but global trade had developed well nevertheless, said Habben Jansen.

"The U.S. President also wants the U.S. economy to grow. They will need more goods for that," he said. Shipping, a proxy for trade and a health measure of the world economy, could see transport volumes rise between 2.8% and 3% in 2025, he said. Hapag-Lloyd is expected to grow slightly above the industry average, he added. The company's Gemini co-operation with Danish peer Maersk started on Feb. 1, bringing together a network of 340 ships on seven trade corridors. In preliminary earnings for 2024 issued last week, the company said it saw earnings quadruple in the fourth quarter, contributing to a slight rise in annual profit. Comprehensive 2024 earnings will be released on March 20.

(Reporting by Elke Ahlswede, writing by Vera Eckert, editing by Andrey Sychev)