[Text/Observer Network Xiong Chaoyi] Before the US initiated the tariff war, Walmart, a major American retail giant, had tried to shift the burden of tariffs onto China. Only after being contacted by Chinese authorities did it begin to consider "making up" for this.

According to a report by the Hong Kong South China Morning Post on April 29, following the sharp decline in cargo volumes due to the escalation of the trade dispute between China and the US, in recent days, Walmart and other major American retailers have notified some manufacturers in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region of China to resume shipments.

"Our long-term partner, Walmart, has informed us to start shipping to the US, and we do not need to bear the additional cost of new tariffs on Chinese goods," revealed the vice president of a large stationery and office supplies exporter in Ningbo on April 28. The company mentioned that it had received notification from Walmart requiring them to resume normal shipments to the US. The company stated that the cost of the new import tariffs would be borne by American customers. Additionally, at least one exporter in Jiangsu also received a notice of demand recovery for inventory preparation.

According to a report by the Hong Kong Ming Pao on April 26, during the ongoing 137th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair), several exporters also coincidentally mentioned that after Walmart, Home Depot, Target, and other retail giants met with US President Trump on April 21, Walmart had already notified Chinese suppliers to resume sending goods that were temporarily suspended due to the start of the tariff war at the beginning of this month. The tariffs will be borne by American buyers.

Walmart shopping supermarket in the United States - Material photo

"We understand that major American retailers have suggested their Chinese suppliers resume orders," said Paul Tai, regional director of Mainetti Group, which designs and exports clothing racks and packaging products for the American and European markets and collaborates with multiple major American retail groups. He mentioned that American clients had sent similar notifications as early as April 23.

He stated that since US President Trump proposed the so-called "reciprocal tariffs," many American importers have suspended or even canceled orders to China. Compared to last year, the order volume in April this year has plummeted by more than 40%, making this demand recovery quite "good news."

This regional director of Mainetti Group mentioned that suppliers have adjusted their freight solutions to cope with changes in tariffs. "Due to the uncertainty of tariff policies, many suppliers are now using FOB (Free On Board) quotations instead of DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) models, allowing American importers to handle US import tariffs through local customs agents to respond to constantly changing regulations."

The South China Morning Post pointed out that so far, Trump has continuously imposed high tariffs on China, and China has subsequently retaliated. Recently, the US government has been releasing signals from top to bottom to "cool down" the tariff standoff between China and the US, clearly indicating that they can no longer endure it.

On April 22 local time, Trump expressed at the White House that he does not want to continue increasing tariffs on China. When talking about the 145% tariff on Chinese imports, he claimed that the current level of tariffs on Chinese imports would not remain at its current level, stating that "145% is very high but will not stay that way forever." When pressed further about what level the tariff would decrease to, Trump responded that it would "significantly drop, but not to zero."

On the same day, Trump continued to hype up the "negotiations" and "US-China phone calls" topics during an interview with Time magazine. In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun has repeatedly debunked these rumors. On April 28, he responded most recently: "As far as I know, the two heads of state have not spoken recently. I must reiterate that there has been no negotiation or discussion regarding tariff issues between the two sides."

Xu Weijun, assistant researcher at the South China University of Technology Public Policy Research Institute, said that Walmart's decision to resume shipments reflects the pressure from American businesses demanding an end to the trade war.

"China's stronger-than-expected countermeasures may disrupt Trump's strategy and affect American multinational companies," he said. "Major corporate giants will have ways to convey their positions to Trump and even force him to make some changes."

However, Xu Weijun also reminded Chinese exporters to formulate contingency plans to cope with further policy shifts by Trump. "Trump will only cut tariffs bit by bit," he added. "When the two countries return to the negotiating table, it will still take time and a lot of negotiation to get everything back on track."

Previously, on April 24, the WeChat official account "Walmart China" released a message stating that in积极响应 the call for domestic and foreign trade integration, Walmart has opened a green channel for qualified export enterprises, simplified access procedures, accelerated approval efficiency, and helped relevant enterprises quickly open up the domestic market.

Sam's Club is Walmart's high-end membership store. On April 15, the first Sam's Club store in Anhui Province opened in Hefei. WeChat Official Account "Walmart China"

In the midst of the US imposing excessive tariffs on China, this news quickly attracted attention from Bloomberg News in the United States. The report mentioned that Walmart's initiative to actively respond to the Chinese government's call aims to "help Chinese exporters sell goods domestically" and is also "to balance previous practices of demanding price reductions from Chinese suppliers to bear part of the increased tariff costs."

On March 11, regarding Walmart's request for significant price cuts from Chinese suppliers, relevant departments of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and others contacted Walmart to understand the situation. Some experts pointed out that Walmart's actions might violate commercial contracts and disrupt normal market trading order.

"If the situation is indeed true, Walmart's actions are not conducive to its business development in the Chinese market," wrote an article under the name of "Yuyuan Tankian" under the Central Radio and Television Station.

Huang Kai (a pseudonym), a non-standard category supplier for Walmart, previously told the Observer Network, "Making suppliers and consumers bear the cost of the US tariff policy on China is unethical. Walmart cannot simply turn a blind eye. Such actions will certainly face resistance and won't work."

On April 24, Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yadong responded to the US claim of "tariff cooling" by stating that the US abuse of tariffs violates basic economic laws and market rules. It not only fails to solve the US's own problems but also seriously disrupts the international trade order, interfering with the normal production and operation of enterprises and the daily lives of the public. It has already faced strong opposition from the international community and within the US. "The bell can only be untied by the one who tied it." Since the unilateral tariff measures were initiated by the US side, if the US really wants to solve the problem, it should face the rational voices from the international community and domestic parties, completely cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China, and find a solution to the differences through equal dialogue.

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Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7498644005807227443/

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