Cargo bookings from China to US surges 300% following tariff pause
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The demand in the US for container shipping from China has surged nearly 300 per cent, after a halt in retaliatory tariffs between the two countries, according to container-tracking software provider Vizion reports Reuters.The demand for twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), surged 277 per cent to 21,530, as compared to an average of 5,709 TEUs in the week ending May 5, according to Ben Tracy, Vizion's vice president of strategic business development.Earlier, US importers responded to President Trump's announcement on April 2 that a 145 per cent tariff would be imposed on Chinese goods by significantly reducing shipments.However, trade has resumed quickly after both nations agreed on Monday to a 90-day pause in the escalating trade conflict.As part of that, the U.S. scaled back its tariffs from 145 per cent to 30 per cent, while China lowered its duties on American imports from 125 per cent to 10 per cent."With this temporary pause now in place, we're clearly seeing bookings rebound," Tracy added.German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd also reported a 50 per cent week-over-week increase in U.S.-China bookings in the early days of this week. CEO Rolf Habben Jansen commented on the trade ceasefire, saying: "We're already witnessing a rise in volume between the U.S. and China, and we expect more to come."Recently, the United States and China had trade talks in Geneva, Switzerland, last week, where China's Vice Premier He Lifeng and the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are leading the negotiations for their respective countries.US President Donald Trump had imposed reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries with which the US has a trade deficit. Later, President Trump decided to pause the tariffs for 90 days after many countries initiated talks with the US administration for a trade deal. During these 90 days starting April 9, a 10 per cent baseline tariff si imposed by US on all countries.
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