IN THE NEWS: Trump Tariff Pause Bumps up China Imports, but Less Retail Choice and Higher Prices are Coming: CNBC Supply Chain Survey

CNBC
May 22, 2025
Lori Ann LaRocco

FROM THE ARTICLE: The recent pause on the steepest tariffs on Chinese goods has led importers to boost stalled orders from Asia, but not by enough to eliminate the risk of retail shortages in the months ahead, according to a new survey from CNBC and interviews with logistics executives and retailers.

The majority of respondents to a recent CNBC Supply Chain Survey (59%) said they are not seeing a restart in holiday orders from importers since the announcement of the trade war pause. Among those saying order activity has resumed, over half (53%) say those orders are full holiday orders.

The CNBC Supply Chain Survey was conducted between May 14 and 16, with approximately 100 responses to these questions fielded from a sample including freight and logistics services providers, retailers, and consumer goods companies.

Separately, retailers tell CNBC even with the reduction in the steepest tariffs on Chinese goods from 125% to 30%, the import taxes remain too high to complete full orders. The “stacking of existing tariffs” has many companies paying well over 30%.

Fewer shipping containers are expected to enter major US ports in the coming weeks even as some imports rebound from trade war lows, based on commentary from the Port of Los Angeles.
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The freight business is impacted by the ongoing trade pressures, with port labor and trucking and rail industries that depend on container volumes also taking a hit.

“Currently, we are experiencing a significant decline since the end of Q1,” said Paul Brashier, Vice President of Global Supply Chain at ITS Logistics. “This decline is primarily attributed to the high tariffs imposed on Chinese goods. Some volume was buoyed by front-loading and alternative sourcing from Southeast Asia, India, and Europe. However, we expect this downward trend to continue throughout May and into early June while shippers restart import operations from China.”

Brashier said because some orders have been un-paused, there will be a short-lived container increase, but it will not be a sustained Covid container “surge.”

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