Advertisement
How Trump's tariffs could affect China's tech industry
Tech products dominate the list of US imports from China
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
This article originally appeared on ABACUS
President Trump says he’ll slap tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods -- and that could make many Chinese electronics more expensive in the US.
We won’t know for a few days what exactly will be targeted, but the top four Chinese exports to the US are all tech products: Cell phones, computers, telecommunications equipment and computer accessories.
Unsurprisingly, cell phones are by far the largest single category, being almost double the next item on the list. Among those are ZTE -- well behind Apple and Samsung but challenging LG for third place in the US.
But what makes this story complicated is that it isn’t just Chinese companies exporting products to the US: American companies are too. Reuters says Apple’s iPhone is responsible for about 22% of the US$70 billion in cell phones that China sends to the US.
And American companies likely play a big role in the second biggest imported product: Computers. Apple also makes many computers in China, and Lenovo is the fourth largest PC vendor in the US, accounting for nearly 12% of shipments in the last quarter.
Before joining the Post in 2018, Karen was a writer and associate producer at CNN International, where she contributed to the award-winning Asia flagship show News Stream. She is a graduate of Duke University and University of Hong Kong.
Advertisement