Tariff War | China's e-commerce exports to the US fell 65%. Yiwu toy merchants: Don't care about sales to the US
US President Donald Trump launched a tariff war, increasing tariffs on China to 145% and canceling the tariff exemption policy for small packages from China and Hong Kong, which has had a severe impact on Sino-US trade. In Yiwu, Zhejiang province, a toy trader said he no longer cared about sales to the US. "We don't care about the 20 to 30 percent (of buyers from the US)... We now sell most of our products to South America and the Middle East."
The Guardian reported that under the tariff war, Chinese government data showed that e-commerce shipment exports to the United States fell 65% from January to March, while exports to Europe rose 28%. The report mentioned that under Trump’s tariff policy, Chinese e-commerce companies such as Shein and Temu were greatly affected, and their exports to the United States dropped sharply.
In Yiwu, China's "small commodity capital", toy merchant Mr. Hu told the BBC about the impact of the tariff war on him. He said that since Trump launched a trade war against China during his first term in 2018, Yiwu has "learned a lesson", that "other countries also have money."
Pictured is Christmas decorations for sale in Yiwu city on April 9, 2025 (Reuters)
Mr. Hu said that about 20 to 30 percent of the business comes from American buyers, but "we don't care about that 20 to 30 percent... Most of our sales now go to South America and the Middle East. We are not short of money, we have money." The report said that local businessmen and exporters said that they have other options besides the United States. Thousands of buyers go to the local area to purchase every day, and buyers can be seen coming from Dubai, Africa, South America and other places.
Another businessman surnamed Lin said he had noticed the loss of American buyers in the past 10 years he has been in the toy industry. "A few days ago, the store next to us received an order from an American customer worth more than 1 million yuan. But due to tariffs, the store owner decided to cancel the order."
Pictured is a Trump mask sold in a store in Yiwu, China on April 16, 2025 (Getty)
He said the consequence of the tariff war is that many American companies are protesting because most toys in the United States are supplied by China. "They definitely need China."
China's total toy exports in 2024 will reach US$34 billion, of which about US$10 billion will be sold to the United States.
美國總統特朗普（Donald Trump，又譯川普）大打關稅戰，其中對華關稅增至145%，又取消中港小額包裹的豁免關稅政策，中美貿易大受衝擊。在浙江省義
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