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Zhang, a yoga apparel exporter based in the southern Chinese city of Dongguan, has suffered a series of painful setbacks since the US-China trade war intensified earlier this year.
“This latest round of US tariffs hit harder than previous ones – it really caught us off guard,” said Zhang, who declined to give her full name for privacy reasons.
The business managed to navigate earlier phases of the trade war by re-routing some shipments via Vietnam and pivoting to supplying China’s booming e-commerce platforms, which were able to send goods to America duty-free thanks to the “de minimis exemption” for small packages.
“But just as we were gaining ground and on track to double our profits, Trump’s tariffs came in and shut the door,” Zhang said.
Since April, the Trump administration has not only raised tariffs on Chinese goods to about 42 per cent on average, according to Morgan Stanley estimates, but also removed the de minimis exemption and pressured Vietnam and other nations to clamp down on Chinese transshipment.
The moves have hit Zhang’s business hard. Her regular US clients have put their orders on hold for the past two months, as they “watch how the policy unfolds”, she said.
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