As Milt Friedman astutely explained, tariffs are generally ineffective in stimulating benefits for the US. On the other hand, Trump tariffs which were left in place during Biden fall into a different category. The purpose of Voldemort's tariffs is to stop the US from being overly reliant on China for a host of goods, ergo stimulating substitute supply chains through Asia, Mexico, and elsewhere. Plus, encouraging Xi to stop unfair trade practices and intellectual property theft.
Is it working? Will it work? Yes. Yes. There is collateral damage along the way, however. The tarrifs raise the price of components for many US manufs. Our leverage to extract fair treatment from China has grown geometrically as trade options with others grow and because of China's RE and Demographic crash.
How Trump’s Tariffs on China Changed U.S. Trade, in Charts
Mexico has supplanted China as the main source of goods, but imports keep climbing
By Inti Pacheco, WSJ
Updated Nov. 25, 2024 12:28 am ET
China is no longer the main source for U.S. imports. Mexico took its place last year.
That seismic shift started in 2018 after President Trump signed into law a round of tariffs on many Chinese imports during his first term. And he has promised to impose another round of tariffs after he returns to the White House in January.
Tariffs haven’t slowed America’s demand for foreign goods. Many items are just finding new ways into the country. U.S. imports of goods reached $3.1 trillion in 2023, up from $2.3 trillion in 2017, according to an analysis of Census Bureau international trade data.
Semiconductors, leather bags and laptops were among the top China imports that were most affected by the tariffs. Last year, the value of those Chinese imports was on average 35% less than in 2017.
Companies big and small have moved production from China to other manufacturing hubs such as Mexico, Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia.
Last year, products coming from China made up 14% of all imported goods, the lowest share in nearly two decades. However, many of the goods arriving from factories in Mexico and Vietnam still include components that originate in China.
In 2023, smartphones worth billions of dollars were brought to the U.S. from India, South Korea and Vietnam, a 42% increase from six years earlier. The value of laptops and tablets imported from Vietnam and Taiwan also rose, as well as the memory chips used for videogames or mining cryptocurrencies.
Tariffs have altered the trade in kitchen cabinets. About $1.3 billion worth of such cabinets were shipped from China in 2017. That number plunged to $26 million last year, even as the overall amount of wooden cabinets imported continued to climb. They are now mostly coming from Vietnam.
Companies importing toys, sports equipment and videogame consoles appear to have stuck with their China suppliers with deep supply chain advantages. Imports of those goods from China reached $32 billion in 2023, a 24% increase from 2017.
A few products—including lithium-ion batteries and videogame consoles—had a surge in imports since 2017. More than 70% of those imported goods were still sourced from China in 2023.
Peter Santilli contributed to this article.
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