After the US-China tariff deal, will Chinese factories still need Southeast Asia?
Por Alice Li — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement US-China trade war Economy Global Economy After the US-China tariff deal, will Chinese factories still need Southeast Asia?
Beijing and Washington plan to waive additional duties on US$30 billion of each other’s goods, potentially narrowing the region’s trade advantage
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Alice Li Published: 10:11pm, 30 Sep 2026 Updated: 10:12pm, 30 Sep 2026
For years, Chinese manufacturers have viewed Southeast Asia as a way to reduce exposure to higher US duties on goods made in China. But a new round of tariff cuts proposed by Washington and Beijing could weaken that incentive for some products, potentially changing the economics of the strategy.
Under the new US-China Board of Trade , more than 90 per cent of Chinese products on a list of goods worth US$30 billion – mostly everyday consumer items, such as toys and household goods – would return to most-favoured-nation tariff treatment, with all additional duties waived, China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Monday. A reciprocal US$30 billion list covers US exports to China.
A White House statement did not elaborate on the exact tariff cut levels, but the changes – if implemented as outlined by Beijing – would effectively bring duties on most of these products to below 10 per cent, according to US official data. Some products could face zero duties, depending on the product category.
The picture is different for some Southeast Asian manufacturing hubs. Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, which have attracted Chinese investment in low-end consumer goods manufacturing over the past decade, continue to face additional US tariffs of between 10 and 12.5 per cent. Washington imposed the duties on 60 trading partners in July following a Section 301 investigation into alleged forced labour.
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