Report: Exports to China Fell by 7% in 2018

The U.S. trade war with China resulted in a 7 percent drop in goods exports -- $9 billion worth -- from 2017 to 2018, according to a new report from the U.S.-China Business Council. Even with the drop, the U.S. exported more to China in 2018 than it did in 2016. The report blamed China's retaliatory tariffs on about 85 percent of U.S. exports for the decline.

The single biggest category of exports is airplanes and aerospace parts, which China chose not to tariff. China bought $16.1 billion in aerospace products from the U.S. in 2018; semiconductors and components were the second-largest export to China, at $8 billion, and that category grew from 2017.

Where the tariffs really start to become evident is with automobiles, where retaliatory tariffs led to 40 percent tariffs until April. China bought $6.3 billion worth of motor vehicles from the U.S. in 2018, down from $10.1 billion in 2017. Agricultural exports -- which also face retaliatory tariffs -- do not make the Top 5 list of exports by value.

China is the third-largest export market for U.S. producers, after Canada and Mexico. Exports to Canada were flat in 2018, and rose 9.4 percent to Mexico.

Craig Allen, president of USCBC, said, "We need a substantive agreement between the United States and China to address the long-standing concerns of foreign companies in China. A sustainable agreement must provide a way to verify that commitments are implemented, including for further market opening, intellectual property protection, and equal treatment for US companies. That agreement must also include a plan of action for the removal of all or most of the tariffs to reverse the damage we saw in 2018."