Emirates SkyCargo bullish on US despite tariff turbulence

• ‘Demand continues to be strong’
• US imports are 13% of global total
• Washington-Beijing standoff

Emirates SkyCargo has said it remains fully committed to the North American market despite escalating trade tensions and uncertainty sparked by Donald Trump’s tariffs. 

The cargo division of Dubai’s state-owned airline Emirates operates freighter services to cities such as Chicago and Houston. It also uses the belly-hold capacity of passenger aircraft to transport goods in and out of US gateways including New York City and Atlanta.

“The demand continues to be strong out of the US,” said Badr Abbas, divisional senior vice president for Emirates SkyCargo. “We are operating at full capacity as we speak.”

The air cargo industry is closely watching the impact of the levies announced by Trump on April 2, which are set to lift the US average tariff rate to its highest level in a century. 

Although “reciprocal” tariffs have been paused for 90 days, a 10 percent blanket levy is in place – and the US trade standoff with China has intensified. 

Washington has imposed a 145 percent tariff on Chinese imports while Beijing has responded with a 125 percent tariff on US goods – threatening to further disrupt trade flows and reshape sourcing strategies for multinationals.

“Trade tensions are threatening the international trading system as we know it,” Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, the UAE’s economy minister, told the International Air Transport Association’s (Iata) World Cargo Symposium in Dubai on Tuesday.

Emirates SkyCargo transported almost 2 million tonnes in the first six months of 2024, up 16 percent on the same period in 2023. The rise was partly down to strong Chinese e-commerce traffic and an increase in shipments bound for Dubai.

“It’s too early to speculate on the long-term impact” of the Trump tariffs, said Abbas.

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US imports account for 13 percent of the global total, said Maja Marciniak, senior economist and policy analysis at Iata.

“No matter where we end up with the tariffs and what actually gets introduced and passed through, there will already be some slowing down impact as businesses just sit back and wait for a moment figuring out what their next set should be,” she said.

The value of air cargo carried in 2023 was over $8 trillion. Iata forecasts that 72.5 million tonnes of freight will be carried by air this year, with 7.5 percent growth estimated for the Middle East region.

Willie Walsh, director general of Iata, said he remained confident that target would be met, irrespective of tariffs and trade wars.

“The year has started well and I would expect that to continue,” he said.