US ocean imports from China tumbled 28% in June on tariff hikes
Overall U.S. container imports fell 3.5% from June 2024 levels, coming in at 2.2 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs). China imports totaled 639,300 TEUs last month, according to Descartes' analysis of bill of lading data from U.S. customs.
The retreat followed an extended run of near-record imports fueled by importers rushing in goods to beat tariff deadlines.
China's share of U.S. imports hit 28.8% in June, well below the July 2024 peak of 40%. As a result, popular imports from China, from furniture and toys to textiles and footwear, tumbled last month.
At the same time, imports from several Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand surged as retailers and other imports diversified sourcing.
U.S. ocean imports appear to be stabilizing after the 7.2% year-on-year drop in May, said Jackson Wood, director of industry strategy at Descartes.
Year-to-date, total imports through June are tracking 3.8% above 2024, though growth has slowed compared to earlier in the year, Descartes said.
"This isn't as bad as it could have been or as bad as we thought it was going to be," Wood said.
Still, uncertainty over U.S. tariffs is likely to persist.
The U.S.-China trade truce that lowered punitive tariffs is set to expire on August 10.
Trump on Monday signed an executive order extending the partial U.S. tariff rate reprieve on many countries, changing it from July 9 to August 1.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
23 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump says US is close to reaching a trade deal with China
TURNBERRY, Scotland, July 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday his administration was close to reaching a trade deal with China, but gave no other details. "We're very close to a deal with China. We really sort of made a deal with China, but we'll see how that goes," Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland.
Sky News
23 minutes ago
- Sky News
US and EU agree trade deal, says Donald Trump
The United States and European Union have agreed a trade deal, says Donald Trump. The announcement was made as the US president met European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen at one of his golf resorts in Scotland. Mr Trump had said the main sticking point was "fairness", citing barriers to US exports of cars and agriculture. He went into the talks demanding fairer trade with the 27-member EU and threatening steep tariffs to achieve that, while insisting the US will not go below 15% import taxes. For months, Mr Trump has threatened most of the world with large tariffs in the hope of shrinking major US trade deficits with many key trading partners, including the EU. In case there was no deal and the US had imposed 30% tariffs from 1 August, the EU has prepared counter-tariffs on €93bn (£81bn) of US goods. Ahead of their meeting on Sunday, Ms von der Leyen described Mr Trump as a "tough negotiator and dealmaker". And she had called for a rebalancing of bilateral trade worth billions of dollars between the vital partners.
Reuters
23 minutes ago
- Reuters
US, EU agree trade deal, EU will see 15% tariff across the board
TURNBERRY, Scotland, July 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said the United States and the European Union had reached agreement on a trade deal that includes a 15% tariff on EU goods entering the U.S. and significant EU purchases of U.S. energy and military equipment. The deal also calls for $600 billion in investments in the U.S. by the European Union, he told reporters. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the agreement would include 15% tariffs across the board, saying it would help rebalance trade between the two large trading partners.
