According to a new analysis released Wednesday, US President Trump's trade war with China has shifted US companies to Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan and Mexico to purchase tariff-affected products such as furniture, refrigerators and car tyres.
Trump's decision to impose a 10-25% tariff on Chinese imports worth about $250 billion disrupted U.S. retailers and manufacturers, prompting them to rush to avoid possible cost spikes.
Panjiva, a trade data company of S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in a report that containerized goods imported from China by the United States fell by 6.4% in the first quarter as buyers gradually emptied their pre-tariff stocks and shifted orders to lower-cost countries.
Retailers such as IKEA, Home Depot, Target and Room to Go imported 13.5% less Chinese furniture in the first quarter. Panjiva said that, however, imports of furniture from Vietnam increased by 37.2% and from Taiwan by 19.3%, partially offsetting the decline in imports from China.
Imports of household appliances have also been affected.
Refrigerators imported from China fell by 24.1% in the first quarter, while those imported from Korea and Mexico increased by 31.8% and 32%, respectively.
"An important factor in this shift is the rescheduling of supply chains by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics," Panjiva said in a report.
The automotive industry has also been rethinking trade routes.
In the first three months of this year, U.S. tyres imported from China fell by 28.6%. Meanwhile, US port data show that imports of tires from Vietnam increased by 141.7%, and imports from Korea increased by 11.1%. Panjiva said that suppliers such as Korean tyres (000240.KS) and Nexen (002350.KS) had gained new business.
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