Tariff roller coaster prompts Chinese exporters to ‘give up’ on US

SHANGHAI/GUANGZHOU - Amid the chaos of erratic US tariff announcements, Chinese exporters producing everything from kitchen appliances to Halloween decorations have responded by selling more goods to buyers in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

Mr Jacky Ren, whose Gstar Electronics Appliance factory used to generate more than 60 per cent of its revenue from US orders, says he has “given up” on the US market.

Months of tit-for-tat tariff escalations, de-escalations, a brief truce, and the latest threat of a triple-digit tariff increase on Chinese goods from US President Donald Trump in retaliation for Chinese curbs on rare earth exports have left Mr Ren “extremely exhausted”. So he is seeking out new markets to offset lost orders from US customers.

Mr Ren is not alone. Chinese customs data released this week showed exports from the world’s second-largest economy grew 7.1 per cent to 19.95 trillion yuan (S$3.6 trillion) in the first nine months of 2025, despite a significant drop in goods heading to the US.

This growth is expected to help China demonstrate the resilience of its economy in the face of geopolitical and trade upheaval when it announces its third-quarter gross domestic product data on Oct 20.

Still, Chinese exporters are not exactly happy with the situation, even though they have found new markets.

“In this environment, where global consumption (of our products) is not enough to replace US demand, our order volume and revenue have plummeted by half,” said Mr Lou Xiaobo, who makes Halloween decorations in eastern China and is in Brazil on a market research trip as he looks to sell more to Latin America.

As China’s entire export-oriented manufacturing sector has pivoted almost simultaneously, competition has eroded prices, making it more difficult for manufacturers to make ends meet.

“Losing access to the United States, which is the largest consumer market, is akin to the rail industry losing the locomotive,” Mr Ren said, adding that it is becoming increasingly common for exporters to sell at a loss.

“Every market is highly competitive... all we can do is hold on and wait for an opportunity.”

‘US buyers gave up’

On Oct 15, the bustling opening day of the autumn edition of southern China’s Canton Fair in Guangzhou – the world’s largest trade show – all 15 companies Reuters spoke to reported seeing no US buyers.

Most noted an uptick in attendees from Brazil, South-east Asia and Europe. All said they were prioritising market diversification.

Ms Cai Jing, who runs a travel mug company started by her mother and uncle in 1998, has recently started making personal blenders, saying that export manufacturers have little choice.

It has not been the decision of Chinese exporters to abandon the US market, Ms Cai said.

“Sales to the US have dropped a lot, by around half. It’s not that we’re giving up on the US market. It’s that US buyers gave up on us.” REUTERS