CHINA - There's a vast empty space in the middle of the factory floor in Foshan in southern China where workers should be welding high-end air fryers for the US market.
Derek Wang says his American customers were wowed by his air fryer models - which are controlled via smartphones and can also bake, roast and grill. But then on 2 April, Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs hit all Chinese goods entering the US, eventually reaching 145% - and his clients asked him to pause production.
"I tried to keep smiling through my anxiety for the sake of my 40 workers," he told the BBC. On Wednesday, as a deal to ease the trade war came into effect, Mr Wang said his US buyers were back on the phone. Both countries still face some tariffs. There is at least a 30% tax on all Chinese goods entering the US and Beijing has kept a 10% levy on American goods coming into the country, down from 125%. But this surprise agreement after a weekend of negotiations in Switzerland has given factories and businesses some breathing room. "At this time, our US client is willing to pay for the tariffs. Of course, we had to bargain with them as they asked us to lower some of our costs," he said. (BBC)
