U.S. tariffs: China had rerouted exports to stay on top till 2023
The Hindu
With the tariffs reaching high levels this year, it remains to be seen whether China will continue to dominate world exports
Trade data shows that despite facing tariff headwinds from the U.S., the world’s largest importer, China, the world’s largest exporter, has managed to increase its overall exports, till at least 2023. A series of tariff escalations by the U.S. on Chinese products from 2018 led to fewer imports by the U.S. from China in the following years. Despite this, China’s share in global exports rose from around 13% in the years before the tariff escalations to 15% in the years following them.
In fact, the U.S.’s share in many of China’s top export commodities declined considerably after the tariff escalations in 2018. China was able to make up for the fall by finding newer markets or selling more to other trade partners.
In January 2018, the average rate of U.S. tariffs on Chinese products was a little over 3%. By the time President Donald Trump’s first term ended, the average tariffs on each others’ products was around 20%, which remained the same during the Biden years as well. However, this year, the U.S.’s tariffs on Chinese products kept increasing and is now finally pegged at a staggering 145%. Beijing retaliated by raising duties on U.S. products to 125%.
With the tariffs reaching very high levels, it remains to be seen whether China will be able to retain its dominance in world trade. In fact, by April 2025, all the commodities exported by the U.S. to China and vice-versa were subjected to some level of tariffs. This was not the case during former U.S. President Joe Biden’s term, with tariffs being applied on around 60-70% of the products.
Chart 1 shows the share of exports from the U.S. that were subject to tariffs from China and vice versa from 2018 to 2025.
Chart appears incomplete? Click to remove AMP mode
Chart 2 shows the share of China’s top five export destinations from 2014 to 2018 (before escalations) and 2019 to 2023 (after).
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