GUANGZHOU, China — From blenders to bicycles, it could get tough for Americans to buy made-in-China products soon.

That’s the message from manufacturers and exporters this week at China’s oldest and biggest trade fair — the Canton Expo. Soaring U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods have sown chaos in China’s manufacturing heartland. Exporters told NPR that orders to America had been halted, and many are scrambling to find revenue elsewhere.

Mini-oven maker Foshan Zero Point Intelligent Electrical Appliance Co., Ltd., got hit hard. It sells 90% of its products in America, according to sales manager Steven Zhang. Escalating tit-for-tat tariffs this month brought everything to a screeching halt.

“We told our suppliers not to deliver raw materials. Our workers were put on leave,” Zhang said. “There was nothing else we could do.”

I don’t remember any time in my life that “brought … to a screeching halt” has been so prevalent across industries. The billionaires will be fine; the rest of us are fucked.

  • jarfil@beehaw.org
    1·
    20 hours ago

    “We told our suppliers not to deliver raw materials. Our workers were put on leave,” Zhang said.

    Let’s keep in mind this is “business as usual” in China. Contrary to what happens outside, they have huge manufacturing hubs where businesses open and close all the time, all crammed into a relatively “small” area full of suppliers, manufacturers, logistics, etc.

    For reference of the scale, Guangzhou has a population of 16.5 million, Shenzhen has 13.5 million, Foshan has 9.6 million. That’s metro area, the whole province of Guangdong has over 127 million people.