Imports and Pandemics: How U. S. Trade Has Shifted

Since 2018, there's been a steady split between the U. S. and China's economies due to trade tensions. Then a surprising twist: the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. How did this affect U. S. imports? Let's look at how U. S. importers dealt with the trade war and the pandemic lockdowns. We'll explore the impacts on U. S. imports, both separately and combined, across different economic areas. Surprisingly, businesses moved parts of their supply chains away from China to dodge high tariffs, snaking into Southeast Asia.

Our analysis shows that higher tariffs meant the U. S. imported less from China. Instead, Southeast Asian exporters joined forces with Chinese suppliers, helping assemble and finish products. But the lockdowns turned things around. During this time, the U. S. imported more goods straight from China and through Southeast Asian exporters that got products from China first.

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