- On Saturday, the Trump administration said it would exempt technology products like the iPhone, PCs and chips from much of the recently imposed Chinese tariffs.
- But for most businesses in the U.S., orders from China are being canceled and Chinese freight being shipped could be abandoned.
- Without a wider pause in the trade war with China, the damage will soon be “irreversible” for U.S. businesses, according to a retail expert, including furniture, toys, apparel, footwear, and sports equipment.
Apple’s iPhone and other technology hardware, from chips to PCs, received a China tariff reprieve from President Trump on Saturday, but for much of the U.S. economy and small business owners, the damage will soon be irreversible from the 145% tariffs being imposed on Chinese imports.
Canceled freight orders and abandoned freight from China are quickly becoming the norm in the trade war between the U.S. and China, according to supply chain executives, as businesses across U.S. industries put a full stop on container exports, with the tariffs hitting like a ton of bricks.
“Furniture producers in China have seen a complete halt in orders from U.S. importers, and we’re hearing the same across toys, apparel, footwear, and sports equipment,” said Alan Murphy, founder and CEO of Sea-Intelligence.
“We had the same across Southeast Asia, but after the 90-day reprieve those bookings have restarted,” said Brian Bourke, chief commercial officer for SEKO Logistics, while the cancelled bookings for containers out of China continue.
“Almost everything is on hold as it relates to China business,” said Alan Baer, CEO of OL USA.
“Trump’s 145% total tariff on Chinese imports would stop most trade between the U.S. and China,” economist Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation’s Center for Federal Tax Policy, said on Thursday on CNBC’s “The Exchange.”
“There may still be some things without any substitutes that companies just have to foot the bill, but for the most part, that cuts it off,” York said.
