- Title: Export orders to U.S. down a third at China's largest trade fair
- Date: 5th November 2018
- Summary: GUANGZHOU, GUANGDONG, CHINA (RECENT - OCTOBER 16, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING IN AND OUT OF CANTON FAIR BOARD WITH PICTURE OF HANDSHAKE WITH U.S. AND CHINESE FLAG ON SLEEVES BATTERY COMPANY MOTOMA'S BOOTH GENERAL MANAGER OF MOTOMA, ABELL LU, TALKING WITH HIS COLLEAGUE VARIOUS OF PHONE BATTERIES ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) GENERAL MANAGER OF MOTOMA, ABELL LU, SAYING: "We are extremely worried about the trade war. In fact, the impact from the U.S. side is only one part, which is limited. However, the U.S. ('s decision) will affect many other countries and it will have a bigger impact on us. (The trade war) will affect other countries' (market) expectations. They will think China's economy is going to see a downturn because of trade frictions between the U.S. and China. If the market expectations change, our business will be rather difficult." VARIOUS OF BATTERIES IN DISPLAY SALES MANAGER OF BETTERPOWER BATTERY CO. LTD, BILL HO SITTING WITH HIS COLLEAGUES BATTERIES ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) SALES MANAGER OF BETTERPOWER BATTERY CO. LTD, BILL HO, SAYING: "So the overall impact on our battery industry will gradually show from next year on. The strategy for us to influence this is to expand our markets in other countries. In addition to emerging markets outside the U.S., the European market is a very good choice for our company. As for emerging markets, the Middle East, Asia, Japan and South Korea are all good markets for us." HONG KONG, CHINA (RECENT - OCTOBER 17, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN HONG KONG, TARA JOSEPH SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN HONG KONG, TARA JOSEPH, SAYING: "Right now we're facing a tit-for-tat trade war in terms of tariffs. People are starting to live with that and get it. But what's the longer-term plan? And for businesses, to make up their minds about whether they're going to move their supply chain or how to invest for the future, they really need to have some sort of certainty or sense of what's going to happen. We've seen with the Trump administration so far that things can just switch overnight and that makes it very difficult to plan." DONGGUAN, CHINA (RECENT - OCTOBER 17, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF WORKERS WORKING ON LITHIUM ION BATTERY PRODUCTION LINE VARIOUS OF WORKERS MAKING LITHIUM BATTERIES FOR IPHONE (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) GENERAL MANAGER OF MOTOMA, ABELL LU, SAYING: "They (our U.S. customers) firstly may force us to cut prices, and secondly will look for alternatives options to solve their procurement difficulties (amid the trade war), this will be the response from the customers' side. For us, firstly, we might cut costs. Secondly, we will consider improving the technology content to increase the competitiveness. Thirdly, we may pull our production base out of China. " VARIOUS OF AUTO-SEALING MACHINE PROCESSING LITHIUM ION BATTERY FOR IPHONE VARIOUS OF WORKERS WORKING ON LITHIUM ION BATTERY PRODUCTION LINE
- Embargoed: 19th November 2018 12:00
- Keywords: trade war trade U.S. China factory exports Lithium battery production line Canton fair worry
- Location: GUANGZHOU, HONG KONG AND DONGGUAN, CHINA
- City: GUANGZHOU, HONG KONG AND DONGGUAN, CHINA
- Country: China
- Topics: Government/Politics,International Trade
- Reuters ID: LVA0019589DHP
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The value of export orders to the United States signed at China's largest trade fair dropped 30.3 percent on the year, its organiser said, as higher U.S. import tariffs made goods from batteries to farm tractors costlier.
The steep fall in business with China's biggest trading partner at the twice-a-year Canton fair, which ended on Sunday (November 4), points to growing headwinds for exports, a key growth driver.
Fair exhibitors said they were pessimistic about next year's export outlook as the costs of raw material and labour rise, in addition to growing impact of trade friction with the United States, the China Foreign Trade Centre (CFTC) said.
The United States has levied additional tariffs of 10 percent to 25 percent on $250 billion of Chinese goods this year, as punishment for what it calls the country's unfair trade practices, with the 10 percent tariffs set to rise to 25 percent at year end.
"The overall impact on our battery industry will gradually show from next year on," Bill Ho, sales manager at BetterPower Battery Co in Shenzhen, told Reuters at the fair. The company is considering expanding its export market beyond the United States to include the Middle East and other parts of Asia, Ho added.
In the city of Dongguan, one of the main export hubs in southern China's Pearl River Delta, workers are rushing to assemble intricate battery parts as their factory receives a robust number of orders before the new tariffs take effect.
Abell Lu, general manager at Motoma, a Chinese lithium battery producer that sells more than half its products to U.S. smartphone makers, said he was "extremely worried." He said his company in the first half of 2018 had seen a ten percent increase in business compared to previous years since U.S. customers had increased their orders ahead of the next line of tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are expected to meet on the sidelines of the Group of 20 leaders summit in Argentina at the end of November. If their meeting does not yield any progress in resolving the dispute, Trump can be expected to hand out more tariffs, further hitting China's already tattered export outlook.
"We've seen with the Trump administration so far that things can just switch overnight and that can make it very difficult to plan," said Tara Joseph, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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