
When the first two rounds of 10% tariffs hit, Zou Guoqing, a Chinese exporter, groaned but didn't find the barriers insurmountable. He gave up some of his profits and offered his client, a snow-bike factory in Nebraska, price cuts ranging from 5% to 10%. It seemed to work: The factory agreed to a new order of molds and parts.
But when President Donald Trump announced an additional 34% universal tariff on Chinese goods on April 2, Zou, who’s been exporting to the U.S. for more than a decade, was incredulous.