‘American customers won’t buy anything this yr’: Trump’s 104% tariffs dim festive cheer for China’s Christmas factories

Chinese producers of plastic Christmas timber and different vacation gadgets say they’ve but to obtain any orders from their US purchasers – they usually worry they could not get any in any respect, studies information company Reuters.
The delay comes amid hovering US import tariffs, with US President Donald Trump ramping up levies on Chinese items by 104% this yr alone.
Manufacturers throughout China have expressed considerations as worldwide purchasers decrease, pause, and even cancel orders.
“By mid-April all the orders are normally finalised,” mentioned Qun Ying, who runs a Christmas tree manufacturing unit in Jinhua, japanese China. He was quoted as saying to Reuters, “But right now … it’s hard to know if any orders are coming. Maybe American customers won’t buy anything this year.”
Across the festive provide chain, producers are reporting a standstill. Jessica Guo, additionally based mostly in Jinhua, mentioned one in all her main American patrons has simply paused a 3 million yuan ($408,191) order after spending 400,000 yuan on supplies.
“I expect that order will soon be cancelled,” she advised Reuters. “My peers and I rely on U.S. orders to survive. This will inevitably affect a lot of people. No one can escape.”
Guo famous that home demand for Christmas decorations in China is negligible. “Losing the U.S. market will definitely impact many people’s jobs,” she mentioned.
Her 10,800-square metre manufacturing unit often employs 140 folks, with the workforce swelling to 200 through the summer time peak. This yr, she doesn’t anticipate to rent further workers.
Tariffs dim festive cheer
US retailers supply 87% of their Christmas decorations from China, amounting to roughly $4 billion yearly. Meanwhile, Chinese factories promote about half of their inventory to the US market. This dependency on one another is now being examined by the escalating commerce struggle.
Now that tariffs have been slapped on nations like Cambodia — which provides simply 5.5% of America’s Christmas decorations — buyers within the US could possibly be left with emptier cabinets and better costs.
“If Americans want new Christmas decorations this year, they will have to pay a lot more for them — if they can find them on the shelves at all,” one exporter advised Reuters.
‘US orders will come down’
In the Chinese metropolis of Shaoxing, manufacturing unit proprietor Liu Song is trying to adapt by shifting his focus away from the US.
“We are worried that U.S. orders will come down,” he mentioned. “But we will definitely win this trade war.”
Song is now focusing on markets in Russia, Europe and Southeast Asia, which already absorb 75% of his merchandise.
Economists predict the commerce struggle will shave 1–2 proportion factors off China’s financial progress this yr. As Chinese exporters lose US orders, they’re prone to slash costs to remain aggressive elsewhere — squeezing already-thin revenue margins and threatening jobs at house.
‘We’re a contented, joyful enterprise’
Jami Warner, head of the American Christmas Tree Association, says the nation lacks the labour, abilities, and expertise to make it occur.
“They certainly can’t be made in the United States,” she mentioned. “There’s no manufacturing, the technology isn’t here, the labour market isn’t here.”
Warner estimates value hikes are inevitable and warns the entire sector has develop into “collateral damage” in a geopolitical battle.
“What our members make and sell are not strategic products,” she added. “We’re not threatening. We’re a happy, joyful business. We’d like to stay in that joyful business.”