US-China tariff pause: Cargo bookings from China to US surge 300%

Demand for container shipping from China to the US has seen a dramatic surge after the countries agreed to pause retaliatory tariffs, rising almost 300%, according to reports from container-tracking firm Vizion, cited by Reuters.
The volume of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) jumped 277 per cent to 21,530 in the week ending May 12, compared with an average of 5,709 TEUs during the previous week, said Ben Tracy, vice president of strategic business development at Vizion.

Earlier this year, US importers significantly cut shipments after US President Donald Trump announced on April 2 that tariffs on Chinese goods would soar to 145 per cent. However, trade flows quickly resumed after the two nations agreed to a 90-day ceasefire, on Monday, providing some relief to the escalating trade dispute.

As part of the agreement, the US reduced its tariffs from 145 per cent to 30 per cent, while China lowered its duties on American imports from 125 per cent to 10 per cent.

"With this temporary pause now in place, we're clearly seeing bookings rebound," Tracy added.

Hapag-Lloyd, a German shipping firm also reported a 50 per cent weekly increase in US-China bookings, in the early part of this week. CEO Rolf Habben Jansen commented on the pause agreement, “We're already witnessing a rise in volume between the US and China, and we expect more to come.”

Last week, the two nations agreed to the pause during the trade talks that took place in Geneva, Switzerland, with China’s vice premier He Lifeng and US treasury secretary Scott Bessent leading the negotiations.

President Trump had initially imposed reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries with which the US runs trade deficits. However, after various nations entered into negotiations with the US administration, he agreed to a 90-day tariff pause starting April 9, during which a baseline 10 per cent tariff applies to all countries, but excluded China at the time.