Container orders from China to US soar amid tariff settlement

BEIJING/ISTANBUL

Container shipments from China to the US tripled in early May following a decision by Washington and Beijing to suspend tariff hikes during negotiations in Geneva, according to data released Thursday by container tracking platform Vizion.

During the week of May 5-11, average weekly container orders from China to the US jumped to 21,530 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit), marking a 277% increase from the previous week.

The spike comes amid expectations that Chinese exporters will accelerate pre-shipments ahead of the temporary tariff reduction agreed upon.

Exporters are anticipated to take advantage of the 90-day window to ship goods at lower tariff rates.

On April 2, US President Donald Trump announced additional tariffs on trade partners, including China.

As a result, a tariff showdown began between the two countries when China responded. At its peak, the US raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 145%, while China imposed a 125% tariff on American products.

While the Washington administration postponed the additional tariffs imposed on other countries for 90 days, the escalated tariffs on China came into force in April.

Following the escalating trade tensions, US and Chinese officials met in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 10-11 to hold tariff negotiations, which resulted in an agreement to reduce tariffs for 90 days.

Following the talks, and as of May 14, it was decided that for 90 days, the US would reduce its tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30% and China would reduce its tariffs on US goods from 125% to 10%.