US Retailers Rush China Orders

United States retailers are currently rushing to import merchandise from China to avoid the prospects of billions of dollars of extra taxes being incurred on Chinese products.

With proposed tariffs yet to be officially imposed by Trump’s administration, retailers are effectively stocking up on products that could soon cost considerably more.

The net impact of the rush has resulted in a 6-7% percent increase in containerised traffic between China and the United States in April, when comparing to the same month last year.

During March, Trump directed the US trade representative to level tariffs on about $50 billion worth of Chinese imports following an investigation into intellectual property theft. He followed this up with threats of a further $100 billion after China retaliated to the initial directive.

Volumes are expected to continually grow throughout the summer on the Trans-Pacific route as retailers continue to stock up, and at least until the tariffs are confirmed.

UniOcean Lines are operating numerous vessel loops from China, including our Trans Pacific, Northern Europe, Australasia and Inter Asian services.