LONDON

Commercial vessel traffic between China and the US declined 27% in April amid rising tensions with US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.

Rapidly rising tariffs through mutual retaliations from the two countries prompted commercial vessel traffic to slow down significantly.

On April 1-25, 2024, some 119 commercial vessels from China arrived in the US, carrying containers, dry and wet bulk, and more, according to data from the MarineTraffic website compiled by Anadolu. Of the total 119 commercial vessels, 69 of them were container ships, 35 carried dry cargo, and six shipped with mixed dry, and the rest were live cargo and roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ships.

Over the same period this year, some 87 commercial vessels from China docked in US ports, revealing a 27% decline. Of the total 87, 66 were container vessels and 18 were dry cargo, while there was one each of live cargo, mixed dry cargo, and ro-ro vessels.

Some 38 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and 6 liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels arrived empty from China to the US in April 2024. These vessels returned empty after delivering LPG and LNG from the US to Chinese ports, while only one LPG vessel returned to the US in April 2025.

China significantly reduced its LPG and LNG imports from the US at the peak of tariffs, while opting to make purchases from countries, especially in the Middle East, to meet its LPG requirements.

Chinese exports to US down 21% in April

China’s exports to the US declined 21% on an annual basis in April. Despite marking a sharp decline, this was deemed as a smaller shock than market expectations.

The lower-than-expected decline may point to US importers’ efforts to absorb tariff costs due to difficulties finding alternatives, but this situation could result in higher prices for end consumers in the US, according to an ING Think analysis.

Experts consider the slower-than-expected decline in Chinese exports to the US as a factor that gave Chinese officials the upper hand ahead of high-level trade talks in Geneva last weekend.

Tariff developments

US tariffs on China were 10% in February, but this rate rose to 20% in March. China retaliated with a 15% tariff.

Trump announced his sweeping reciprocal tariffs on April 2, the so-called “Liberation Day,” which applied to all countries at a rate ranging from 10% to 50%. China’s reciprocal tariff rate was 34% and this rate would go into force on April 9, however, Beijing announced its retaliatory tariffs of 34% on Washington in response.

China’s tariffs on the US reached 125% while the US’ tariffs on China totaled 145%. Later, the US exempted electronics imports from the tariffs.

Following a month of high tariffs and uncertainties, US and Chinese officials held a high-level dialogue in Geneva to reduce tensions and agreed on Monday on a 90-day truce, during which US tariffs on Chinese goods, including fentanyl, will be reduced from 145% to 30% and Chinese tariffs on US imports will be decreased from 125% to 10% as of Wednesday.

Bilateral trade to suffer major blow without permanent solution to tariff issue

The US-China bilateral trade totaled $582.4 billion in 2024, according to the US Trade Representative data. US exports to China reached $143.5 billion, while Chinese exports to the US totaled $438.9 billion, revealing a US trade deficit of $295 billion.

Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs increased uncertainties in the global economy and trade. The World Trade Organization (WTO) estimated that the global trade volume would fall this year.

The WTO said that if tariffs were to remain at high levels before the 90-day suspension, trade between the US and China could fall 81% this year. The organization stated that global trade routes will have major changes with Chinese exports to North America on decline, while China’s trade rises with other countries.