Businesses face a sobering reality: Under Trump's tariff plan, weaning off China won't be easy

Dylan Butts,Anniek Bao - CNBC - 09/04
Donald Trump's move to impose tariffs on goods from around the world is leaving companies scrambling to decide where and how their goods are produced.
Cargo ships in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 3, 2025.
Athit Perawongmetha | Reuters

Many companies had been steadily reducing their reliance on China as a manufacturing hub since President Donald Trump's first term, hoping to blunt the impact of punitive levies from the United States. Then his latest "reciprocal" tariffs came along.

Trump's move to impose tariffs on goods on a broader swathe of countries is now putting those diversification plans in disarray and leaving companies scrambling to decide where and how their goods are produced.

Steve Greenspon, CEO of Illinois-based houseware company Honey-Can-Do International, started moving more of his production from China to Vietnam during Trump's first presidential term. The company supplies household durables such as shelving units, coat hangers and laundry hampers to U.S. retail giants such as Walmart, Target and Amazon.

The company relied on Chinese suppliers for as much as 70% of its products before Trump's first term. That share has since fallen to less than a third as Vietnam and Taiwan have become increasingly important as sourcing destinations.

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