Facing the impacts of U.S. so-called "reciprocal tariffs", some foreign trade companies in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality have taken actions to optimize its market layout.
From 10 percent, 34 percent to a staggering 125 percent, the tariffs imposed by the United States on China have been climbing rapidly, causing huge shocks to the trade between two countries.
To cope with such drastic change, Chinese foreign trade firms have actively made adjustments, seeking opportunities amid challenges.
In a foreign trade enterprise in Chongqing, a batch of motorbikes to be delivered to the United States has been stockpiled.
"When the first additional 10 percent of tariff was announced, customers were still willing to share the cost with us after discussions. But now, the additional tariff is so high, neither sides could bear the high cost. Therefore, we talked with our customers and decided to suspend the shipment," said Luo Yong, head of Chongqing Hanwei New Energy Company.
However, the firm's production line was still quite busy, as workers were racing to finish an order from Europe which is worth half a million dollars. Meanwhile, a buyer from the UK was on a fact-finding tour of the factory and was about to sign a deal worth 5 million dollars.
"The quality is very high. We are very happy to cooperate, and we hope to maintain a long-term cooperative relationship," said Suman, a British merchant.
"Since last year, we've been actively expanding markets in EU and emerging economies, in order to lower the risk of dependence on a single market. Our exports to emerging markets are expected to achieve a 20-percent growth this year," Luo said.
Since 2025, many foreign trade companies in Chongqing have been boosting their profit margins via technical upgrade, brand building and supply chain optimization.
According to data from Chongqing Customs, the export of local self-owned brand goods amounted to 54.2 billion yuan (about 7.41 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of this year, taking up 56 percent of the total export value.
Foreign trade enterprise in Chongqing optimizes market layout to cope with US tariffs
