Warehouse War: China\’s Factory Heartland Fights Trump Tariffs

Guangzhou Warehouse Bounces Back After US Tariff Truce

Aliens of the Skies: How a Chinese Logistics Team Coped with Trump‑era Tariffs

• Shuai Hang, a 31‑year‑old loader, once walked into a warehouse that was utterly empty. The sky‑high duties on Chinese exports cut his work to almost nothing.
• On Tuesday, when President Donald Trump extended the diplomatic truce on the duties, workers hustled—filling lorries with clothing and kitchenware.
• Many of the parcels were destined for a 2023 wave of American shoppers on the online platform Temu, an off‑shoot of PDD.

Tariff Impacts on Daily Lives

Shuai’s monthly wages dropped by a third when he could not load any parcels. “If tariffs are slightly lower, there are more outgoing shipments, and then we have higher wages,” he explained.

The Fragile Truce That Makes the World Turn:

• In May, Trump and Beijing agreed to temporarily lower levies to dismantle the tit‑for‑tat that had upended global trade.
• Trump defied the truce on Monday—just before it slipped—by extending it to November.

Weijiang International’s Recovery

Xiong Wei, the founder of the Guangzhou‑housed logistics company, said overall deliveries had dropped by about 20 percent in May, with the US market representing around a quarter of their cross‑border business. However, he liked to add that business had rebounded since July, and he did not worry over the looming expiration of the 90‑day truce.

“We might have been worried in May, but now we are indifferent,” he said, “We are used to it.”

Warehouse Operations Updated: 100 Tonnes a Day

• The warehouse is now sending out 100 tonnes of packages every 24 hours, with up to 70 trucks making trips.
• Industrial fans whirred as sweat‑slicked workers methodically scanned yellow, black and sage green bundles into lorries.
• Weijiang International has recently invested in its own warehouse in Chicago. In many ways the uncertainty provided opportunity for smaller logistics companies like theirs.

Cards Reshuffled in a Market That’s Still Growing

About 30 percent of the parcels moved by Weijiang International end up in a different warehouse, this one owned by Temu‑parent PDD, where they are unloaded, repacked and readied for a flight across the ocean.

Shuai still pays close attention to tariff news, even though he packs three to four tonnes in a truck daily. He said he does not want frequent breaks, and all want to earn more money.

Chen Weiyan Says They Will Not Give Up This Market

• Chen, the manager, is bullish: “We will not give up this market. Folks in America need our goods.”
• Working at the warehouse was less tiring than laboring at a construction site.
• He added that earning money had become more difficult in the past two years, but the team remained determined.

In the end, Guangzhou’s bustling warehouse, once a dust‑laden silo because of sky‑high tariffs, is now thriving, a testament to resilience and a well‑timed diplomatic truce that let the Chinese logistics firm continue to ship the goods that keep American families happy.