US imports rise from other nations amid China trade war: Data
US President Donald Trump's tariffs imposed on Chinese goods are driving some American manufacturing out of China, but a significant amount remains outside of the United States, US government data shows.
China’s neighbors are mainly benefiting from Washington’s trade war against Beijing, according to data released on Thursday by the US Census Bureau.
US imports from China decreased 12 percent during the first four months of 2019, compared to last year, but imports from Vietnam increased 38 percent during the same period, the government data shows.
Imports have also increased by 22 percent from Taiwan, 17 percent from South Korea, and 13 percent from Bangladesh.
The Census data suggests that US importers are finding ways to purchase from suppliers in that region.
Tariffs are paid by importers, not by exporting nations, and they can choose to either absorb the costs or pass them on to consumers.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that his tariffs will push US manufacturers to bring production back to America, a core promise during his election campaign.
"The higher the Tariffs go, the higher the number of companies that will move back to the USA!," he tweeted this week.
However, the US president acknowledged that his trade wars are driving manufacturing elsewhere.
"Also, the Tariffs can be completely avoided if you buy from a non-Tariffed Country, or you buy the product inside the USA (the best idea). That's Zero Tariffs. Many Tariffed companies will be leaving China for Vietnam and other such countries in Asia. That's why China wants to make a deal so badly!" Trump tweeted last month.
US imports from countries like Vietnam and South Korea have been steadily increasing over the past decade. Some production has begun to move out of China because of increasing labor wages there, even before Trump began imposing tariffs.
"The current trade dispute is certainly accelerating that trend," said Russell Price, the chief economist at Ameriprise Financial.
Critics in the US have urged the White House and Congress to penalize American corporations that offshore jobs, while rewarding them with a tax credit for retaining their US workforce.
The US and China have been in a trade war since last year when Trump began imposing tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods.
Trump escalated his trade war with China in May, increasing tariffs on about $200 billion of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent, prompting Beijing to retaliate with further duties of its own.
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