PLUNGE

Blitz Bureau

Chinese imports to the US dropped to their lowest levels since the pandemic as punishing tariffs began to take hold in March, according to recently released Census trade data, reported USA Today.

The drop in trade between the two countries was a major impetus for talks this weekend that led to steep reductions in tariffs on both sides, the website report said. Still, it said, overall imports to the US surged to record levels as goods from the European Union, Mexico and Canada continued to pour in. US imports for consumption exceeded $340 billion in March, surpassing the previous record set in January by more than $20 billion. The total marks a 37 per cent increase over March 2024 and the highest monthly import figure since recording started in 2002.

Trade experts attributed the shift in trade patterns to on-and-off tariffs under the administration of President Donald Trump.

Trade talks continue

China, one of the United States’ largest trading partners and a major target of Trump’s ever-changing tariff policies, saw its lowest imports in the past five years, at nearly $28 billion – a 5 per cent decrease compared to March 2024. After months of escalating tariffs between the world’s two largest economies, the trade war between the US and China is entering a new chapter – a steep reduction of their respective tariffs for 90 days as the two countries continue trade talks.

Under the new trade deal, the US will lower its tariff on Chinese imports from 145 per cent to 30 per cent, while China will cut its import duty on American goods from 125 per cent to 10 per cent. “We achieved a total reset with China after productive talks in Geneva,” President Donald Trump said on May 12. “The best part of the deal was that we opened up China. China agreed to open itself up to American business.”

Regressive tariffs

In March, imports from China fell off as Trump doubled the tariffs on all Chinese goods to 20 per cent and imposed 25 per cent duties on all steel and aluminum imports on top of existing tariffs. In April, when Trump paused his ‘reciprocal’ tariffs, universal taxes on almost everything from every country for 90 days, the US tariffs on Chinese goods climbed up to 145 per cent.

“One of the really bad things about these tariffs is how regressive they are,” said Hillman, the international trade expert. “In other words, for your average low or middle-income family, they’re going to spend about 40 per cent of their total income, even some more like 50 per cent, buying goods, the exact same goods that are subject to all these tariffs.”

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