China's Exports to US Fall 33% in August as Growth in Exports Slows

Beijing – China's exports to the United States fell 33 percent in August, one of the steepest falls in recent history, as U.S. President Donald Trump's enforcement of transshipments ban and aggressive tariffs had a heavy impact on trade volumes.

In total, China's exports increased 4.4 percent year-on-year in U.S. dollars, the weakest rate since February and less than the forecast of analysts at 5 percent growth. Imports only increased a marginal 1.3 percent, falling short of expectations of 3 percent, as domestic demand stalled with a faltering property market and poor consumer confidence.

The U.S. continues to be China's biggest single-country export market, taking in $283 billion of goods in the first half of 2025. Nevertheless, the precipitous decline indicates the increasing strain of American trade policy. For comparison, Chinese exports to the European Union were $541 billion over the same period.

Trade tensions have increased despite a temporary 90-day tariff ceasefire agreed in August, which pinned U.S. tariffs at about 55 percent on Chinese imports and Chinese tariffs at 30 percent on U.S. exports. A late-August trip to Washington by senior negotiator Li Chenggang yielded little progress, with talks stalled.

Chinese exporters have increasingly turned to rerouting products through third nations to avoid U.S. tariffs. But Washington unveiled a 40 percent tariff on marked transshipped goods in July, raising the watchfulness and poised to undermine the practice.

Although the slowdown, there has been some resilience. A business survey indicated a bounce back in new export orders during August, which assisted manufacturing to top forecasts. Nevertheless, experts caution that the outlook is still vulnerable as China is set to report new inflation readings this week. Goldman Sachs expects producer prices to remain "deeply negative," while consumer inflation is also set to weaken.

With American demand weakening and trade negotiations stuck, China is increasingly relying on Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America to diversify markets. Yet no region comes even close to the scale of American demand, so Beijing's exporters are set for a delicate balancing act in the coming months.