Tariffs Are Shifting but Not Stopping Trade, Says Port Exec

The head of one of the world’s largest ports remains optimistic despite ongoing tariffs.

His name is Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, CEO of DP World. He spoke with The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in an interview posted Wednesday (Sept. 24) about what he’s seeing as he runs a business operating in more than 60 ports and terminals in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas, and at the Jebel Ali Free Zone trade hub in Dubai.

“We have been in business for a long time,” he said. “We’ve been through geopolitical issues, monopolistic practices, government protective policies, but we know one thing: that when it comes to trade, it’s very resilient.”

Asked how U.S. tariffs were impacting the flow of trade, bin Sulayem said that whatever can’t be absorbed or has trouble going to America is shifting to other parts of the globe, with a big increase happening in trade to Africa.

“But it’s not just Africa. Jebel Ali also serves the Indian subcontinent, the upper and lower Gulf, from Iraq to Eurasia as well as Asian countries. The [Commonwealth of Independent States] countries are huge—I think there is a $1.5 trillion possibility of trade in these landlocked countries,” he told the WSJ.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS wrote recently about the “new economic reality” tariffs have created for businesses in the U.S.

“For mid-market companies, the challenge is no longer whether tariffs will impact their operations, but how to preserve profitability without driving customers away in the process,” that report said.

Research from PYMNTS Intelligence’s August edition of the 2025 Certainty Project, “Profit Slips, Policy Shifts: Product Leaders Navigate the Crossfire,” has shown that 90% of goods firms and more than 70%of services firms have increased prices due to tariffs and other pressures.

At the same time, three-quarters of mid-market goods executives and almost half of services firms report shrinking profit margins during the past year.

“Consumers and businesses have begun pulling back,” PYMNTS added. “Roughly 75% of goods companies and their services counterparts reported weakening demand across consumer and business segments. Higher prices may cover some costs, but they risk eroding brand loyalty and curbing sales volumes. In many cases, firms find that raising prices only accelerates margin decline.”