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Alibaba.com sees jump in US buyer activity after US-China tariff truce

Inquiries from the US on Alibaba’s B2B marketplace surged over 40 per cent the week after Washington and Beijing hit pause on the trade war

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People visit the booth of Alibaba.com during the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou on October 15, 2024. Photo: Xinhua
Ann Caoin Shanghai
US buyer activity on Alibaba Group Holding’s wholesale marketplace surged the week after Washington and Beijing agreed to a 90-day pause on new tariffs, according to people familiar with the matter.

From May 12 to May 18, the number of inquiries from US-based buyers to sellers on Alibaba.com, the e-commerce giant’s business-to-business shopping platform, surged by more than 40 per cent compared with the previous week, according to people briefed on the matter, who declined to be named as the data is not public.

Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

The spike highlights how US businesses are moving quickly to take advantage of the three-month reprieve by stockpiling goods to mitigate the impact of the high tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed on Chinese goods early in his second term. Most US buyers on Alibaba.com are small and medium-sized companies.

Some buyers are even looking to secure inventory for the holiday season, according to the data, with buyer inquiries related to Christmas products climbing more than 20 per cent during the week.

Alibaba.com and other Chinese e-commerce platforms have seen increased interest from users in the US since the trade war escalated under the Trump administration. In late April, Alibaba.com briefly became the top shopping app on Apple’s iOS App Store in the US, according to Chinese media outlet Wallstreetcn.com.

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