Trump's sharp tariff hikes could speed up China's shift to new markets and offshore factories
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to sharply raise tariffs on all Chinese imports and close some loopholes Chinese exporters currently use to sell their products more cheaply in the U.S. If enacted, his plans would likely raise prices in...
YIWU, China — Visitors who bought fridge magnets at Times Square or other tourist hotspots around New York in recent years most likely were purchasing the work of Du Jing or one of her fellow exporters in a small Chinese city that supplies the U.S. and the world with tons of small commodities.
Du and her husband run Yiwu Xianchuang Handicraft Manufacturing in the eastern city of Yiwu, home to the world’s largest wholesale market. Products from here -– ranging from plushies to glass vases and portable toolboxes -– are sold in stores and on online platforms around the world, including to U.S. consumers on Amazon.
For years, the United States has been a major destination for Chinese goods, but exporters like those in Yiwu have been reducing their reliance on the world’s largest consumer market as Beijing and Washington feud over trade. Some have moved production to Southeast Asia and other parts of the world to evade U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.
Those trends look to accelerate under President-elect Donald Trump, who has threatened to sharply raise tariffs on all Chinese imports and close some loopholes exporters currently use to sell their products more cheaply in the U.S. If enacted, his plans would likely raise prices in America and squeeze sales and profit margins for Chinese exporters.
Du, speaking from her booth in the Yiwu wholesale market, the walls covered in colorful magnets and keychains, isn’t sure whether higher tariffs or a worsening U.S. market are to
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