U.S.-China tariff reprieve is enough to get products on the shelves in time for Christmas

BEIJING — The U.S.-China tariff cuts, even if temporary, address a major pain point: Christmas presents.

BEIJING — The U.S.-China tariff cuts, even if temporary, address a major pain point: Christmas presents.

Nearly a fifth of U.S. retail sales last year came from the Christmas holiday season, according to CNBC calculations based on data from the National Retail Federation. The period saw a 4% year-on-year sales increase to a record $994.1 billion.

“With the speed of Chinese factories, this 90-day window can resolve most of the product shortages for the U.S. Christmas season,” Ryan Zhao, director at export-focused company Jiangsu Green Willow Textile, said Monday in Chinese, translated by CNBC.

His company had paused production for U.S. clients last month. He expects orders to resume but not necessarily to the same levels as before the new tariffs kicked in since U.S. buyers have found alternatives to China-based suppliers in the last few weeks.

U.S. retailers typically place orders months in advance, giving factories in China enough lead time to manufacture the products and ship them to reach the U.S. ahead of major holidays. The two global superpowers’ sudden doubling of tariffs in early April forced some businesses to halt production, raising questions about whether supply chains would be able to resume work in time to get products on the shelves for Christmas.