Assuming Trump makes good on his promise to tariff all China goods at 10% starting Sept 1, with the very real possibility of those tariffs hitting 25% soon after, then it looks like more companies will move their supply chain. For a long time, China has been the world's low cost, low regulation, manufacturer of choice. Even though multinationals would like to keep it that way, some 40% of U.S. companies are relocating at least some of their supply out of China, according to a May 2019 AmCham Shanghai survey.
"This shows the disruptive effect the trade war is having on supply chains. If new U.S. tariffs do take effect September 1, the increased tensions will likely accelerate the relocation trends we are seeing now," says Kenneth Jarrett, a senior advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group, a Washington DC based strategic advisory firm.
