April 14

4/14 - Despite the 90-day reprieve on most reciprocal tariffs, the trade scenario has gone from bad to worse, given the 145% (as of 4/13) tariffs on Chinese imports and 125% Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods. The top 5 import categories from China in 2024 were: 1. Electrical & Electronic Equipment: $127B (smartphones, laptops, batteries); 2. Machinery: $85B (nuclear reactors, boilers); 3. Toys, Games, and Sports Equipment: $32B; 4. Plastics: $21.5B; and 5. Furniture & Lighting: $20.9B. Smartphones and laptops - the 2 biggest single-product imports – were given an exemption on Saturday. At the restaurant level: packaging, gloves, uniforms, kitchen equipment, tableware (particularly take-out), furniture, and fixtures are all in those top 5 categories – and could all be more than double previous cost levels soon. Can we live without China? It will be very hard – and it will be pandemic-level chaos for supply chains.