U.S. retailers scramble to shift production out of China
As Trump’s tariffs loom, companies are weighing shifting their production out of China versus hiking customer prices.
By
December 8, 2024
Trump has stated his plans to impose a 60% tariff on goods from China and up to 20% on everything else the United States imports.
Trump hopes the tariffs will spur U.S. manufacturing, but early indicators suggest most companies will shift production outside places like China but not to the U.S.
- Shoe retailer Steve Madden said last week they plan to reduce its reliance on China by 40-45% and shift production to countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia
- Stanley Black & Decker, the largest tool company, announced preparations to move production out of China to other countries in Asia or possibly Mexico
Others will likely hike prices for customers to offset the additional costs. Even big retailers like Walmart aren’t insulated from Trump’s tariffs. They ended up raising prices last time Trump was in office and will likely continue to move production out of China in favor of other places like India; ~60% of Walmart’s imports were from China in 2023, down from 80% in 2018.
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