President Trump’s tariffs are beginning to cause China a world of hurt as companies begin to move manufacturing out of the country. Very few companies are willing to appease China at the risk of alienating the largest consumer nation in the world.
It’s easier for them to move to a country where the probability of stiff tariffs are likely. Many of them are moving to Viet Nam. Brooks Running told the press in May that they would have to move from China and Apple is looking for a new place to manufacture their products as the tariffs would add too much to the cost of their phones and other products.
Obviously, critics of President Donald Trump will be crowing that the trade confrontation is benefiting foreign countries manufacturing economies while raising prices on American consumers.
But those detractors are missing a point that the hard men in Beijing are no doubt appreciating.
China is a powerful country that’s growing dangerously more powerful all the time (and it’s not shy about flexing its military muscles), but it still relies on the United States.
The current round of tariffs — $250 billion — is already costing the Chinese manufacturing, as the Fox Business News report showed. A new round on $300 billion worth of goods from China entering the U.S. is likely to bite even deeper.
Besides Apple, other big-name companies such as GoPro, the camera maker; Hasbro, the toy and game maker; and the venerable tool company Stanley Black & Decker are also reducing their production in China because of the trade dispute.