American orders of Chinese small businesses on maintenance

“Trump is crazy,” says Lionel SU, surrounded by the repulsive mosquitoes of his company – many were once the best sellers in Walmart stores in the US.

Now these products are sitting in boxes in China and will remain there if President Donald Trump does not collect his 145% tariffs for all Chinese goods related to the United States.

“It’s so hard for us,” he adds.

About half of all the products made by its Sorbo Technology are sold in the US.

It is a small company by Chinese standards and has about 400 workers in Zhejiang province. But they are not alone, feeling the pain of this economic war.

“We’re going through. What if Trump doesn’t change his mind? It will be a dangerous thing for our factory,” says Mr.

Nearby Amy helps sell ice cream producers on his cab for sailing company Guangdong. Its key buyers, including Walmart, are also in the US.

“We have already stopped production,” she says. “All products are in stock.”

It was the same story on almost every stand on the spreading canton on the Guangzhou shopping center.

When the BBC talks to Mr. SU, he is preparing to take some Australian buyers for lunch. They came to look for a deal and hope to reduce the price.

“We’ll see,” he says of the tariffs. He believes that Trump retreats.

“Perhaps in one -two months it will improve. Maybe,” adds Mr. SU, crossed fingers.

Last week, President Trump temporarily stopped the vast majority of tariffs after the global stock markets collapsed and sale in the US bond market.

But he retained import levies aimed at Chinese goods sent to the United States. Beijing replied by imposing his own 125% of the feet on American imports.

This surprised traders with more than 30,000 enterprises that came to the annual fair to show their goods in several exhibition halls with 200 football sites.

In the home use section, the firm reflected everything from the washing machines to the dryer, the electrical toothbrushes to the juicer and the manufacturers of waffles. Buyers come from all over the world to see products for themselves and make a deal.

But the cost of a food mixer or a vacuum cleaner from China with added tariffs is now too high to most American firms convey the cost to its customers.

The two largest economy in the world have reached a dead end, and Chinese goods designed for US households are going to the plant.

The effects of this trade war are likely to be felt in kitchens and living rooms across America, which will now have to buy these goods at higher prices.

China has retained its constant position and promised to fight this trade war “to the end”.

This is a tone that is also used at the fair. Hy Vian, who wanted to buy electric stoves for his company, waved away the consequences of the tariffs.

“If they do not want us to export – then let them wait. We already have a household market in China, we will give the best products to the Chinese.”

China has a large population of 1.4 billion people, and theoretically it is a strong domestic market.

Chinese politicians are also trying to stimulate greater growth in the sluggish economy, urging consumers to spend.

But it doesn’t work. Many middle classes of the country have invested their savings in the purchase of a family house, only watching housing prices have fallen over the past four years. Now they want to save money – don’t spend it.

Although China may be better to bring a thunderstorm than in other countries, reality is still an export economy. Last year, exports made about half of the country’s economic growth.

China also remains a global Goldman Sachs factory, it is estimated that 10 to 20 million people in China can only work on US export.

Some of his workers already feel pain.

Not far from the canton fair, Guangdun, which produce clothing, shoes and bags. This is a manufacturing center for companies such as Shane and theme.

Each building has several factories on several floors, where workers will work for 14 hours a day.

On the asphalt near some shoe factories, several workers squatted to talk and smoke.

“Things don’t go well,” says one who didn’t want to name his name. His friend urges him to stop talking. Discussion of economic difficulties in China may be sensitive.

“We had problems with the COVID pandemic, and now this trade war is. I paid 300-400 yuan ($ 40-54) a day, and now I’m lucky if I get 100 yuan a day.”

The worker says it’s hard to find a job these days. Others who make shoes on the street also told us that they only earned to live the main life.

While some in China feel proud of their product, others experience pain from increasing tariffs and wonder how this crisis will end.

China is facing the prospect of losing a trading partner, which buys more than $ 400 billion (302 billion pounds) of goods each year, but the pain will also be felt on the other side, and economists warn that the United States can head to the recession.

In addition to uncertainty is President Trump who is known for his Brinkmanship. He continued to push Beijing, and China refused to retreat.

However, he said he would no longer add to the current 125% tariff rate for US goods. They could take revenge in other ways – but it offers two sides of the respiratory hall since the week that caused the economic war.

It is reported that there is little contact between Washington and Beijing, and none of the parties wants to quickly head to the dining talks.

At the same time, some companies at the Canton fair use the event to try to find new markets.

Amy hopes that its ice cream producers will head to the new direction.

“We hope to open a new European market. Perhaps Saudi Arabia – and of course Russia,” she adds.

Others believe that China still has money. Among them is 40 -year -old Mayan, who says he earns about 10,000 yuan a month in his shoe firm that sells Chinese customers. Many large shoe manufacturers have moved to Vietnam, where labor costs are cheaper.

Mr. Ma also realized that the enterprises around him are now revealing: “America is too complicated.”