Pause for 90 days, but not for China
A week on from Liberation Day, US president Donald Trump has announced a pause on high-level tariffs on imports into the US from countries all over the world.
On April 9, the president said products from almost all of the US’s trading partners would now be subject to a baseline tariff rate of 10% while negotiations continue. He had previously announced rates as high as 49% for Cambodia, 46% for Vietnam, 37% for Bangladesh and 36% for Thailand.
Stock markets around the world rallied on news of the 90-day pause.
Exceptions include imported cars, steel and aluminium, which will still face levies of 25%.
The most prominent exception, though, is China. While lowering tariffs for most other trading partners, President Trump announced that China’s would go up to 125%. This came after China had put tariffs on imports from the US at 84%.
There are potentially serious implications here for the hide and leather sector. An article that World Leather will publish in the coming weeks will suggest that if the trade war between China and the US continues, the price in China of wet-salted hides from the US will go up to more than $50 per piece. Last year, they cost less than $30 on average.
Based on average prices in 2024, the article will also suggest that wet blue hides imported into China from the US will now cost more than $180 per piece. Last year’s prices were around $99.
Chinese tanners are unlikely to take such serious price-hikes in their stride. It could be easier for them to find new sellers of raw materials than it will be for shippers in the US to find new buyers for their hides.
In the end, the article concludes, hides have to find their way to the places where tanning drums turn.
