Chinese Imports to US Hit 20-Year Low as Tariffs Sink In

The share of U.S. imports from China in the first quarter of the year fell to its lowest point in over 20 years, as the high tariffs President Trump has put on Chinese goods clamped down on trade.

U.S. imports from China reached $102.7 billion in the first three months of the year, data released by the Commerce Department showed Tuesday. That puts the share of imported goods from China at just 11 percent in the first quarter, down sharply from over 22 percent seven years ago.

While the share of imports from China tends to fluctuate with seasonal swings in purchasing, Mr. Trump’s decision in early April to ratchet up U.S. tariffs on China has clearly begun to cascade through supply chains. Because it takes many weeks for products to move from Chinese factories onto cargo ships across the ocean and into American stores, U.S. consumers are, in many cases, just beginning to see the effect of higher prices from the tariffs. But as the summer goes on, those effects are likely to compound.

Both the United States and China have expressed openness to talking about some kind of trade deal that would lower the tariffs, though it remains unclear how quickly any deal could be made.

While some companies appear to have slowed or halted their imports because of current tariffs, others are still rushing to import more products ahead of new tariffs taking effect.

Data released Tuesday morning showed that the U.S. trade deficit in goods and services rose sharply in March, increasing to $140.5 billion compared with $123.2 billion in February, and continuing a sharp upward trend seen since the November election.

Omair Sharif, the founder and president of the research firm Inflation Insights, said the surge in imports of consumer goods in March was almost entirely driven by the ingredients pharmaceutical companies need to make drugs. Mr. Trump has said that he planned to impose tariffs on prescriptions and other medicines in the next few weeks.

“That reflected drugmakers rushing to get ahead of any sectoral tariffs on pharmaceutical goods from the administration,” Mr. Sharif wrote in a note to clients. “In other words, there was far less of everything else, like toys, furniture, appliances, kitchenware, apparel, etc., imported in March than suspected.”

Matthew Martin, senior U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said that imports may remain high from countries that have had their tariffs paused for 90 days, but for China, an additional tariff that the president had put in effect in March “began to bite.”

The average U.S. tariff rate on China rose to over 100 percent in April, he said, which will push China’s share of total imports sharply lower.

Lydia DePillis contributed reporting.