A view of the ongoing 137th Canton Fair held in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province on April 16, 2025 Photo: Chi Jingyi/GT

 
The tariffs initiated by the US government leave US consumers with fewer choices or higher prices in daily commodities, and this has been an open "secret" among global traders, several Chinese exporters told the Global Times at the ongoing 137th Canton Fair held in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province. 

"We used to supply products for many American brands, but that part of the business has largely been suspended due to tariffs. Many European clients approached us even before this session of the Canton Fair, hoping to move the final assembly of our products to Europe - making them 'made in Europe' - before exporting to the US market," Geng Liang, sales manager at Millplan Electric Appliance (Shenzhen) Co, told the Global Times at the company's booth at the Canton Fair.

As a result, American consumers either can't buy these products at all or will have to pay higher prices, said Geng, adding that this is an open "secret" among global traders.
"We have contracts from the US worth about 1 billion yuan ($136.5 million), which have all been suspended due to the US government's tariffs," a manager at an A-share listed Chinese small home appliances manufacturer told the Global Times on condition of anonymity.

The manager revealed that some US customers have asked the company to set up factories in the UK to continue exports. 

It's hard to decide, for the company could lose the contracts, or it must invest in building new factories. "One thing is for sure: US consumers would have fewer choices of products, or they would have to bear price hikes and pay for the tariffs," the manager stressed.

Such comments were made after the US issued an executive order on April 2 announcing that it will impose "reciprocal tariffs" on its major trading partners. The latest White House announcement claimed that China now faces tariffs of up to 245 percent on imports to the US as a result of its "retaliatory actions." 

A US importer of small home appliances for supermarkets, who declined to be identified, told the Global Times that he and his Chinese suppliers decided to counter the tariffs together - they will have to raise the final prices in the US market.

"My suppliers and me, the importer, can't bear the tariff burden. You can see the result -- American consumers pay for the government's tariff decision," the US importer said at the Canton Fair, adding that the tariffs put traders from both sides in a lose-lose situation.

Recent studies have found that the US tariffs were passed almost entirely to US firms or final consumers, according to an analysis published by the Tax Foundation, a Washington-based think tank, in late February.

The tariffs imposed by the US government will make more Chinese exporters diversify their export markets.

Wang Cheng, sales director at Shandong Zhancheng Intelligent Manufacturing Co, told the Global Times that the company decided to suspend exports to the US while exploring other markets, just as many of its peers are doing.

"We have developed in the industry for more than 20 years, which allows us to respond quickly to global customers' needs with China's complete industrial chains. Despite the impact of tariffs, our exports in the first quarter of this year surged 30 percent year-on-year," said Wang.

Zhu Qiucheng, CEO of Ningbo New Oriental Electric Industrial Development, told the Global Times that the Canton Fair, as a global trade platform, can empower Chinese exporters to diversify their global footprint and reduce reliance on the US single market through its multinational procurement networks.