Here’s what some exporters in China say about Trump’s trade war

By NG HAN GUAN YIWU China AP The arrangement war between the world s two largest economies is escalating as China on Friday slapped a tariff on U S goods in response to President Donald Trump s tariff on Chinese products Caught in the crosshairs are businesses that are part of the more than billion business between the countries with Chinese exporters making up the bulk of that exchange Here s what certain of them had to say Largest part of them spoke in the eastern city of Yiwu known as home to the world s largest wholesale field Jiang Jiayu owner of Yiwu Jiayu Festive Supplies Co American customers would normally be placing their Christmas orders at this time of year she commented but right now there is no sign of them U S customers make up about of Jiang s business She noted she didn t understand the purpose of Trump s tariffs Can the U S produce what China or Yiwu is producing now Ordinary people are the ones who will get hurt the bulk by the tariffs she stated I don t think he can continue his behavior for long But she stated she would rather pull out of the arena altogether than pay the hefty U S tariffs At worst we just quit she declared We will not lose money just to keep this area Wu Liying owner of Xinyue Socks Co Wu runs a shop selling socks of all hues printed with cartoon characters stripes or Christmas-themed ornaments She disclosed she is yet to feel the impact from the new levies but knows it is only a matter of time before overseas business becomes more complicated Related Articles Freak sell-off of safe haven US bonds raises fear that confidence in America is fading Irish privacy watchdog investigates Elon Musk s X s use of personal records to train Grok AI chatbot Probable impact of Trump s arrangement war on jobs and inflation sends US consumer sentiment plunging US wholesale inflation fell last month as price pressures eased but commerce war clouds outlook best money apps for teaching kids financial literacy Our clients will have no profit to make and neither will we she noted We are all in the business to make money but if nobody makes money the purpose of win-win cooperation will no longer exist Margaret Zhuang an employee in a kitchen supplies factory The tariffs are so high that it is the same if adding another explained Margaret Zhuang an employee who handles foreign sales at a factory for wooden kitchen supplies in Dongyang in southern Guangzhou province Zhuang noted her American client petitioned the company to stop manufacturing on Monday when Trump raised the tariffs to even after paying a deposit for the order Comparing the exchange war to Trump s first presidency in Zhuang revealed things are much worse this time around because China s economic system is in a slump She s worried that she and her colleagues will have no income when work stops and that she could lose her job Zhuang used to hope the U S and China would negotiate to give each other a lifeline But now we all know the U S just want to break it off she revealed Ding Dandan Christmas decorations seller An exporter of Christmas decorations Ding Dandan believes U S customers will still buy from Yiwu at least in the short term because they have nowhere else to go Do you know of Christmas-related goods in the U S are from China mentioned Ding who often sells to the U S realm via intermediaries in third countries such as Mexico If China does not export them the U S will not be able to import such large amount of goods from elsewhere right Associated Press journalists Wayne Zhang in Yiwu China Huizhong Wu in Bangkok and Fu Ting in Washington contributed to this record