The main ports and provinces of foreign trade in China show the first signs of disruption of the current tariff war between the two largest economies in the world.
Practically no cargo was intended for the United States by Thursday, formerly guilty in Shanghai and Guangdong, while operations in the export factories of the provinces that feed the Chinese export empire stop, said sources in the country.
Piles of shipping containers that have not obtained ships for the United States by the deadline of April 9 are now stacked at the Shanghai and Guangdong ports, local businessmen told RFA.
In warehouses, lots of goods initially intended to be exported to the United States are abandoned, even though the factory floors stopped in Zhejiang and Guangdong – two provinces which represented most of Chinese exports in 2024.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced that he was increasing “reciprocal prices” on China to 125%, which, according to him, is in force immediately.
Later, the White House clarified that the total levies on Chinese imports is in fact 145%, after represented 20% of 20% previous in Beijing for the fentanyl trade.
Friday, China increased tariffs on American imports to 125% on Friday, compared to 84% in retaliation against the last price increase imposed by the United States
The Tit-For-Tat exchange which took place between Washington and Beijing in the last two months was ignited when Trump imposed a 10% tariff on China on February 4, citing his role in the fentanyl, a deadly opioid which has become a major cause of death in America.
But when China retaliated with a 15% rate on American coal and liquefied natural gas, and 10% on crude oil, large cars and agricultural machines, Trump increased China’s tariffs by 10% to a total of 20%.
Thursday, just one day after the announcement of Trump’s tariff in China at 125%, Yangshan and Waigaoqiao terminals from Shanghai – where almost half of the ships accosted this week had been linked to the United States – was suddenly arrested, according to the media group based in Beijing Caixin.com.
A few days earlier, the terminals of Yangshan and Waigaoqiao of Shanghai had climbed the activity while the ships rushed to load containers in a desperate attempt to complete the expeditions and to set sails before the start of the new prices, he said.
Similar scenes take place on the Yantian terminal in Shenzhen, Guangdong, said that Qian, a Guangdong export businessman, who is currently in Shanghai and has witnessed the impact on the port of Shanghai.
The businessmen interviewed by RFA for this article asked to be identified only by their family names for security reasons.
According to Caixin, a Chinese state-of-the-art Cosco Shipping Holdings have said that many goods owners underwent customs customs clearance procedures, while confirming that the containers that had not made the last ships for the United States are currently stacked in the courtyard.
An orientation published Tuesday by customs and the protection of American borders has indicated that any freight that is already on the water and which enters the American ports in the coming weeks will not be subject to the prices.
This applies to any cargo “loaded on a ship at the loading port and in transit in the last mode of transport” or before April 5 and April 9.
Impact on Chinese exports
In 2024, China exported $ 438.9 billion in the United States, up 2.8% compared to 2023, according to the office of the American commercial representative. The United States, on the other hand, exported $ 143.5 billion in China in China the same year.
“Unless they are canceled, the latest American tariff increases mean that China’s expeditions to the United States will have more than half in the coming years,” wrote Julian Evans-Pritchard, head of the Chinese economics economics economics in a research note to customers.
It expects this to collapse a collapse of China exports to the United States and a drop in the country’s gross domestic product between 1.0 to 1.5%, depending on the extent of the reaches.
Guangdong and Zhejiang are the most affected by the tariff war, with companies in the scientific and technological industries now “stagnant”, local businessmen told RFA.
In 2024, the province of Guangdong exported $ 826 billion in goods, including computers, integrated circuits, video displays and phones, according to the online economic data platform, Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC).
Zhejiang – which engages in the export of autoparts and related accessories, semiconductors, seats and refined oil – recorded $ 549 billion in exports in 2024, according to OEC.
“All the companies that engage in foreign trade currently have trouble,” said Zhang, a businessman from Qingdao, Shandong, who is engaging in heavy industries such as machine tools.
“If they (foreign economies) do not work well there, at worst (the president) will be charged. If ours does not work well here, he will collapse,” he said.
Local Chinese businessmen told RFA that there was a feeling of dominant helplessness among the general public and that all horizons show signs of economic depression, with empty restaurants, few consumption activities and closed factories.
“Yesterday, one of my friends took me to a restaurant for dinner on a very lively street in Shanghai. There were more than 10 servers in the restaurant, but we only eat them two,” said Qian.
“In the past, the restaurant was always full of guests upstairs and on the ground floor, but yesterday, the floors were closed, and we were two of us below,” he added.
According to analysts of the brokerage company on goods and future Huatai Futures Co., LTD, a total of 26 trips from China to the west and east of the United States should be canceled during weeks 16 to 19 or on April 14 to May 11, the capacity of containers should reduce by almost 40%.
Published by Tenzin Pema and Mat Pennington