Report: Chinese Exporters Worry About Trade Fight

Chinese manufacturers are growing concerned about escalating trade tensions with the United States, according to a new survey conducted by Reuters.

In a survey of 135 Chinese exporters, 65 percent said they have “worries” about a trade war. But only 26 percent expect a “full-blown” trade war, Reuters reports.

Some Chinese exporters are far more exposed than others, with some Chinese high technology firms facing the prospect of getting hit both by U.S. tariffs and China’s own retaliatory tariffs.

Reuters quotes an executive at a Chinese LED lighting manufacturer who says his supply-chain costs are rising as companies hoard U.S. microchips in advance of possible Chinese tariffs.

“Fifty percent of the chips we use are from the U.S. because the ones made in China are very poor,” so we’ve been forced to pay more for these,” the executive says.

He also thinks the U.S. has an advantage in a trade fight with China.

“They’re fighting with technology, but we’re just fighting with our muscles, with labor. So the impact on us will be very great,” he says.