April 14 (UPI) — Chinese exports increased beyond expected numbers in March as companies moved shipments to avoid lofty tariffs from the United States.
China’s customs authority announced Monday that exports in dollar terms surpassed forecasts in March and jumped 12.4% from a year earlier, a reverse of the 3% decline that occurred in February.
China’s exports slowed in January and February to just 2.3% in growth, the slowest rise since April of 2024. Imports saw a sharp decline of 8.4% from a year ago, the harshest decline since midway through 2023.
China’s exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations vaulted 11.6% last month, with outbound shipments to Vietnam up nearly 19%, while imports from the region grew 9.8%. The United States remains Beijing’s largest trade partner on a single-country basis, responsible for around 10% of China’s total trades.
Due to the pre-emptive shipments made in March, China saw its exports and overall trade surplus reach close to $103 billion. President Donald Trump’s tariffs were said to be his way to slow heavy export-lessened import situations like this, but with China’s response of equally heavy levies, a trade war appears unavoidable.
Trump has since exempted several popular consumer electronics from his 125% tariffs on Chinese-produced goods.
“China is currently evaluating the relevant impact,” a Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson announced on Sunday. “This is a small step for the United States to correct its wrong practice” in regard to Trump’s tariffs.”
Trump however posted to his Truth Social account Sunday that there was “no tariff ‘exception’ announced,” He also claimed that the electronic products remain subject to 20% tariffs connected to his intention to stop the alleged movement of fentanyl into the United States, which he described as “just moving to a different tariff ‘bucket.'” He added that the United States will take “a look at semiconductors and the whole electronics supply chain.”
Since Trump’s inauguration, he has imposed a cumulative 145% tariffs on all imports from China, the 20% duty related to fentanyl included.
The Chinese commerce spokesperson further mentioned that, in regard to the tariff battle, “As an old Chinese saying goes, ‘The one who tied the bell must untie it.'”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday on ABC’s This Week that China and the U.S. had already had “soft entrees” through intermediaries.
“We all expect that the president of the United States and President Xi of China will work this out,” he said.
China will report its first-quarter economic growth Wednesday, with gross domestic product forecast to expand 5.2%, according to a Bloomberg survey.
