American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and China carried a joint survey on the impact of US-China tariffs. Results showed that the negative impact of tariffs is clear and hurting the competitiveness of American companies in China. 74.9% os respondents said the tariffs hikes are having a negative impact to their business. Among them, manufacturers suffered most with 81.5% for US tariffs and 85.2% for Chinese tariffs. Impacts include lower demand (52.1%), higher manufacturing costs (42.4%) and higher sales prices (38.2%).
Also, companies are increasingly adopting an “In China, for China” strategy (35.3%), or delaying and canceling investment decisions (33.2%). However, 40.7% are considering or have relocated manufacturing facilities outside China. For those moving, Southeast Asia (24.7%) and Mexico (10.5%) are the top destinations. Only 6% said they’re relocating back to the US.
On non-tariff measures, 20.1% said there were “increased inspections” in China, and “slower customs clearance (19.7%). 14.2% said there was ” slower license approvals and 14.2% said there were increased regulatory scrutiny. But 53.1% said there was no increase in non-tariff retaliatory measures by the Chinese government.
