Trump tariffs leave American importers with no safe harbour

In a world besieged by turmoil, Jacob Rothman thought he had secured a refuge.

- PETER S. GOODMAN

Mr Rothman, 52, grew up in California but has spent more than two decades in China, overseeing factories that make grilling accessories and other kitchen items for Walmart and retailers around the globe. Well before the rest of the business world, he grasped the pressures bearing on the relationship between his native country and the one where he runs his business.

President Donald Trump used his first term to impose tariffs on imports from China. President Joe Biden advanced that policy. The pandemic exposed the pitfalls of American reliance on Chinese factories for an array of goods, from parts for ventilators to basic medicines.

Mr Rothman and his company, Velong Enterprises, had correctly anticipated demand for alternatives to Chinese industry. He had forged a joint venture in Vietnam, and two more in India. He had set up a wholly owned factory in Cambodia. Come what may, he figured, he could shift production to limit his exposure to tariffs, conflicts and natural disasters.

“I thought I was really ahead of the game,” Mr Rothman said, still absorbing the shock of the one thing he had not seen coming — a veritable tsunami of tariffs that hit dozens of countries at once. “It’s apocalyptic,” he said. “People don’t know what to do next”

Even after the White House last week paused most tariffs on every country except China, Mr Rothman remained shaken. “What does ‘safe’ even mean anymore?” he said. “With a chaos-first foreign policy, even Southeast Asia may no longer be immune”

He assumed that tariffs could eventually be imposed on the region as the Trump administration treated Southeast Asia as an extension of Chinese business interests.