China factories began to slow down their production and lay off some of their workers temporarily, after the trade war launched by US President Donald Trump has decreased demand for various products, from clothes to home appliances, according to the Financial Times.
With the imposition of American customs duties on most Chinese goods at least 145%, some factory owners reported that American customers canceled or suspended their requests, which led them to reduce production.
About 15% of Chinese exports last year went to the United States.
In interviews with the Financial Times and through dozens of publications on social media, workers shared pictures of calm production lines or notifications by suspending work in factories, which highlights the impact of customs duties.
Condition for production
The workers said that the trade war led to the suspension of production for a week or more in factories that produce various elements, from the soles of shoes to jeans and portable stoves.
Some factory owners said they are shrinking additional working hours or working hours on weekends.
For her part, Wang Xin, president of the Shenzhen Electronic Trading Association, said a industrial group representing more than two thousand Chinese merchants, that many of them were “very concerned”, and asked factories and suppliers to stop or delay delivery operations.
She added that this prompted some factories to suspend production for a week or two.
While 3 employment officials at the Guangdong factories, who are working with manufacturers, said that more factories have reduced additional working hours and weekend holidays, adding that only American -based factories stopped working in the entire factory.
“Our export requests have disappeared, so we stopped temporarily,” said a 28 -year -old worker in Fujian Province – who asked not to be identified.
The executive officials at the De Hong Electrical Products Company in Dongkwan, Guangdong Province, gave one -month vacation with a minimum wage, and said the factory was “great pressure in the short term” after customers stopped requests.
“The administration is working hard to find solutions, including expanding new markets and improving costs, so that we can resume our regular operations as soon as possible,” said De Hong – in a notice seen by the Financial Times newspaper.
The newspaper quoted a 26 -year -old man in Zhejiang as saying that the game factory where he was selling was selling most of his products to the United States, forcing the administration to grant workers for about two weeks.
He added – asking not to be identified – that “it is not easy at the present time.”
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Han Dong Fang, founder of the “Chinese Labor Bulletin”, which is closely following the manufacturing and employment sector in China, said it is unclear how widespread work suspension in factories, adding: “The restructuring of the manufacturing sector in China will be a long -term process, and workers will be sacrificed.”
China’s electronics supply chain also employs tens of thousands of people, and Washington has exempted smartphones and some other electronic devices from the most stringent customs duties.
Large technology companies and cities with large gatherings of exporters, such as Schinshen and Dongguan, are launching support programs aimed at “stabilizing foreign trade”. And Chanstation revealed last week the support of companies to participate in foreign trade fairs, and said it would expand exports secure to help cover the canceled American requests, among other policies.
A manager at Ninjo Tayon Electric stated that the company stopped production on April 12, but has since resumed its reduced production from the Kitaya of the Electric Poetry and the Classification Kwaya, and the director, who asked not to be named, added: “We still have some requests from Europe, and we are seeking more. We hope that the United States will change its policies.”
China, which recorded a record trade surplus of one trillion dollars last year, responded to Washington’s customs duties by imposing an additional tax of 125% on imports from the United States, and while Trump has repeatedly stated his desire to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping to resolve commercial differences, it seems that Beijing is not in a hurry to request a phone call between the two leaders.
