Hong Kong
CNN
—
China’s export growth fell in April after Donald Trump’s triple-digit tariffs took effect, in another sign of the damage the US president’s trade war is causing the world’s two largest economies as they prepare for de-escalation talks.
Outbound shipments grew by 8.1% in US dollar terms last month, according to customs data released on Friday, compared to growth of of 12.4% in March, when businesses rushed to get their orders shipped before the sky-high tariffs took effect. China’s exports to the US declined by 2.5% in April, while its imports from the country fell by 4.7%.
The trade figures, though not as bad as economists had expected, add to a slew of economic data pointing to the significant toll the ongoing trade war is already taking on both the Chinese and US economies.
Last week, official data showed China’s factory activity contracted at its fastest pace in 16 months in April, adding urgency to Beijing’s efforts to roll out fresh economic stimulus. In the US, the economy went into reverse in the first quarter, its first contraction in three years, as businesses stockpiled goods in anticipation of Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, which began in April.
The stark numbers illustrate what’s at stake this weekend when Trump’s top trade officials meet with their Chinese counterparts in Geneva, Switzerland to discuss a possible de-escalation of the tariff war. The US has placed at least a 145% tariff on most Chinese imports, and China has responded with a 125% tariff on most US imports. As a result, trade between the two sides is falling sharply, according to logistics experts.
Ships now pulling into US harbors from China are the first to be subject to the tariffs that America is imposing on most Chinese imports. That means, in a matter of weeks, consumers will face higher prices and shortages of certain items.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who will be in Geneva along with Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, has poured cold water on prospects of a deal, saying only that he’s hoping for a “de-escalation.” On Wednesday, Trump, said he would not lower the high tariffs on China in advance of talks, which Beijing has previously said was a pre-condition for negotiations.
The president also told a conservative radio host that he would raise the case of jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai “as part of the negotiation.” Lai, a pugnacious former publisher whose now shuttered tabloid Apple Daily was a regular thorn in Beijing’s side, is in the midst of a national security trial that could send him to prison for life.
According to Reuters, citing unnamed sources, the negotiating teams are expected to discuss tariff reductions, as well as duties on specific products, export controls and Trump’s decision to end de minimis exemptions on low-value imports.
This is a developing story and will be updated.