China-made goods for US now stuck in warehouses amid Trump's tariff hike

US customers suspend shipments as they await clarity on how negotiations will pan out

- Joyce ZK Lim

GUANGZHOU - At the factory in eastern China where Mr Sean Gu's company makes slow cookers, just one production line is running.

It is a far cry from the average of five lines or more than 10 on a good day that it had been operating before the US hiked tariffs on Chinese imports by 145 per cent in 2025.

"We are in a harsh winter," said Mr Gu, marketing director at Suzhou Huamei Electrics which relies on the US market for 80 per cent of its business.

For other companies that export less to the US, "it's just autumn - a bit cold, but they won't freeze to death", he said.

US-bound orders are now stuck in his company's warehouse instead of hitting the high seas. The firm has also stopped making new orders for the US and has had to let go of temporary workers.

"How to sell? Consumers won't accept it," he said of the costs that tariffs would add to the slow cookers' sticker price.

"Why would we produce more when we don't know when they can be shipped out?"

Mr Gu was speaking to The Straits Times at the Canton Fair, China's largest trade show held twice a year in the southern manufacturing hub of Guangzhou.

He is not the only businessman caught in a cold snap.

Exporters of goods that range from bicycle locks and hair straighteners to ceiling fans and towel warmers told ST that American customers had suspended orders and shipments as they await more clarity on how tariff negotiations will pan out.

Washington and Beijing are currently staring each other down.