US imports from China ended the year strongly after some companies stockpiled shipments of clothing, toys, furniture and electronics ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to impose new tariffs that could reignite a trade war between the world’s economic superpowers.
Trump, who has threatened to impose tariffs of 10 to 60 percent on goods from China, will take office as president of the United States on January 20. During his first term, Trump mainly targeted Chinese parts and components. Economists and trade experts predict that his next wave of tariffs could be applied to finished goods.
“Therefore, there has been an increase in exports of final goods from China to the US, as importers seek to avoid possible tariffs on consumer goods,” said Frederic Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC in Hong Kong.
Chinese trade officials said Monday that December exports rose to record levels.
The big increase partly reflects concerns about escalating trade protectionism, Lv Daliang, a spokesman for China’s customs administration, said at a news conference in Beijing.
U.S. seaports handled the equivalent of 451,000 40-foot containers of goods from China in December, up 14.5 percent from a year earlier, according to trade data provider Descartes Systems Group.
That capped a year when U.S. imports of bedding, plastic toys, machinery and other products from China rose 15 percent from 2023, according to Descartes.
Helen of Troy Ltd, seller of OXO kitchen gadgets, Hydro Flask water bottles and Vicks over-the-counter medicines, has contributed to the increase. It has been building strategic inventories to reduce exposure to tariffs, executives said on an earnings call last week.
“The inauguration is literally in a few days. I think we’ll get a little more clarity when President-elect Trump takes office,” Helen of Troy CEO Noel Geoffroy said of the new U.S. customs policies.
Tool, electrical and plumbing distributor MSC Industrial Direct sources approximately 10 percent of its supplies from China. It is stocking up on its most popular products that could be threatened by new tariffs as it develops promotional campaigns for goods made in the United States, executives told investors last week.
The true effect of the risk of Trump’s tariffs on overall import gains is difficult to discern because companies closely guard trade data.
Resilient demand
Further complicating the analysis, resilient US buyers have fueled demand. Some importers also brought security supplies to guard against disruptions from Houthi attacks on ships near the Suez Canal trade route and labor disputes at seaports on the US East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico.
Meanwhile, Trump has also threatened to impose tariffs on goods from many other countries, including North American neighbors Mexico and Canada.
Walmart, the largest user of container shipping, is one of the retailers that freight data analysts say has increased imports in recent months. Walmart did not comment on that rating.
Several categories of U.S. imports from all geographic sources posted significant gains during the fourth quarter, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Textiles and clothing jumped 20.7 percent; leisure products, mainly toys, grew by 15.4 percent; home furnishing increased by 13.4 percent; and home appliances and consumer electronics posted gains of 9.6 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively, according to S&P.
Consumer staples categories such as household and personal care, as well as food and beverage, rose 14.2 percent and 12.5 percent, S&P said.
Michael O’Shaughnessy, chief executive of Element Electronics Corp, said there was a rush to ship goods to the US at the end of the year.
Element imports components, mostly from China, for its flat-screen TV assembly plant in Winnsboro, South Carolina – the last major TV manufacturing plant in America. It also imports ready-made televisions. The company built up back-up supplies when port workers threatened to close the East Coast ports it uses.
Still, O’Shaughnessy said there’s a limit to how much he’s willing or able to bring in.
“There’s just not room for everything,” he said. “Also, there are working capital constraints. Every day it sits there costs you.”
