2025年3月5日
From her home in Phoenix, Erica Campbell is waiting for a cargo vessel from China to deliver a shipment of thousands of Jesus rattle dolls, tin Easter eggs, religious-themed baby swaddle blankets and 15,000 packages of Jesus Heals bandages.
艾丽卡·坎贝尔正在菲尼克斯的家中等待着一艘来自中国的货船,船上装着数以千计的摇铃耶稣娃娃、锡制复活节彩蛋、宗教主题的婴儿襁褓毯和1.5万包“耶稣治愈”创可贴。
Ms. Campbell, 36, the owner of Be a Heart, a Catholic goods business, paid the Chinese factories that manufacture the items months ago. The boxes were loaded in a container before President Trump imposed a new 10 percent tariff on all Chinese imports on Feb. 1. She said she probably avoided paying an additional duty as a result, but she was worried there would be more U.S. tariffs to come.
36岁的坎贝尔是一家天主教商品公司Be a Heart的老板,她在几个月前向制造这些物品的中国工厂付了款。在特朗普总统于2月1日对所有中国进口商品征收10%的新关税之前,这些箱子已被装进了一个集装箱。她说,她可能因此避免了支付额外关税,但她担心美国还会征收更多关税。
“I can’t figure out what is going to happen,” Ms. Campbell said. “I am on high alert.”
“我不知道接下来会发生什么,”坎贝尔说。“我处于高度戒备状态。”
Mr. Trump’s targeting of China has thrown millions of small businesses into turmoil. For decades, American firms have designed products in the United States and turned to Chinese factories to produce the goods efficiently and inexpensively. It is how Apple produces iPhones, and how an entrepreneur like Ms. Campbell, a mother of three, operates a business that she said generates $2 million a year in sales from her kitchen.
特朗普针对中国的政策让数以百万计的小企业陷入混乱。几十年来,美国公司在美国设计产品,然后转向中国工厂,以高效、低成本的方式生产产品。苹果就是这样生产iPhone的,三个孩子的母亲坎贝尔这样的企业家也是这样经营企业的。她说,她在自家的厨房里每年能创造200万美元的销售额。
The New York Times has heard from nearly 100 companies that import from China about how the president’s tariffs were affecting them. They are a cross-section of striving enterprises stitched into the global economy: companies that make greeting cards, board games, outdoor footwear, hangers, digital picture frames, coffee equipment, toys, stained-glass windows and custom electronics.
《纽约时报》从近100家从中国进口商品的公司那里了解了总统的关税产生的影响。这些公司生产贺卡、棋盘游戏、户外鞋履、衣架、数码相框、咖啡设备、玩具、彩色玻璃窗和定制电子产品,它们是众多嵌入了全球经济、努力经营的企业的缩影。
Several themes emerged. American businesses, not Chinese suppliers, were shouldering the cost of tariffs. Many companies said they would have to raise prices to offset the expense if they had not already. Some spoke of a feeling of business paralysis: They were afraid to make plans amid the unpredictable stream of new tariffs, fearing the risk of moving production out of China since no country seemed immune.
采访中出现了几个主题。承担关税成本的是美国企业,而不是中国供应商。许多公司表示,如果过去还没有提价,它们未来将不得不提价以抵消成本。一些人谈到了一种商业瘫痪的感觉:在不可预测的新关税浪潮中,他们不敢制定计划,担心将生产转移出中国的风险,因为似乎没有哪个国家能幸免。
Turning to domestic alternatives was usually not viable because they were more expensive, the quality was inferior and there were fewer options. Finally, completely reinventing their supply chain would be a huge undertaking for the companies, requiring time and expense they cannot easily spare.
转向国内替代品通常是不可行的,因为它们更昂贵,质量较差,而且选择较少。最后,对这些公司来说,完全重塑供应链将是一项艰巨的任务,它们难以承受所需要的时间和费用。
At a minimum, business owners are facing a 10 percent cost increase in the goods that they bring in from China — whether components for items assembled in the United States or finished products made in Chinese facilities. They may receive a bill when the goods arrive at the port, or the additional expense may be bundled into shipment costs. Either way, the entrepreneurs said, in many cases it would be money out of their pockets.
无论是在美国组装的零件还是在中国工厂生产的成品,企业主们从中国进口商品的成本至少要增加10%。他们可能会在货物到达港口时收到账单,或者额外的费用可能会被捆绑在运输成本中。企业家们说,不管怎样,在很多情况下,这都是需要他们自己来掏钱。
And that might be just the beginning.
而这可能仅仅是个开始。
Mr. Trump promised last week to put another 10 percent tax on all Chinese imports starting on Tuesday, the same day that tariffs on Mexico and Canada are set to begin. The status of both countries as important way stations for Chinese goods and the prospect of retaliation give small-business owners another thing to worry about. Starting March 12, there will be a 25 percent duty on imported steel and aluminum — two metals whose production China dominates. U.S. trade officials are proposing to impose fees on Chinese vessels entering U.S. ports, potentially increasing shipping costs from China.
特朗普上周承诺,从周二开始对所有中国进口商品再征收10%的关税,同一天对墨西哥和加拿大的关税也将开始征收。两国作为中国商品重要中转站的地位,以及发起报复的前景,让小企业主们又多了一份担忧。从3月12日开始,美国将对进口钢铝征收25%的关税,而中国在这两种金属的生产中占据主导地位。美国贸易官员提议,对进入美国港口的中国船只征收费用,这可能会增加中国出发的航运成本。
Mr. Trump has said the 10 percent tariff was “an opening salvo.” Last year on the campaign trail, he pledged a tariff of up to 60 percent.
特朗普曾表示,10%的关税只是“开场攻势”。在去年的竞选活动中,他承诺征收高达60%的关税。
Even at 10 percent, the tariff is a heavy blow to Julianna Rae, a company that sells high-end silk sleepwear, because all of its products are made in China. Based in Burlington, Mass., the company designs silk robes, pajamas and nightgowns that are produced in China. It imports the goods into the United States and sells them on its website and on Amazon.
即使是10%的关税,对销售高端丝绸睡衣的Julianna Rae公司来说也是一个沉重的打击,因为它所有的产品都在中国制造。该公司总部位于马萨诸塞州伯灵顿,其设计的丝绸长袍、睡衣和睡袍都在中国生产。公司将这些商品进口到美国,并在其网站和亚马逊上销售。
The company’s proprietors, Bill Keefe and Juli Lee, said they were scrambling to deal with the cost increases that Mr. Trump’s import taxes were imposing on them. They had imported a lot of inventory before the tariffs took effect, in anticipation of seasonal Christmas and Valentine’s Day demand. Ms. Lee is also exploring whether to delay some shipments in hopes that Mr. Trump might reverse course on his tariffs.
该公司的经营者比尔·基夫和朱莉·李表示,他们正忙于应对特朗普的进口税带来的成本上升。他们在关税生效前进口了大量库存,应对圣诞节和情人节的季节性需求。李还在考虑是否推迟部分发货,希望特朗普可能会改变关税政策。
Pushing off orders is a risk. Ms. Lee, 56, worries about not having products available for customers. Her Chinese suppliers, already feeling the pinch from a sluggish domestic economy, will be strained from holding inventory for longer periods.
推迟订单是有风险的。56岁的李担心没有产品提供给客户。她的中国供应商已经感受到了国内经济低迷带来的压力,如果延长库存时间,他们将不堪重负。
“How much of a bet can you push onto them?” Ms. Lee said, referring to her suppliers, whom she had grown close to after working together for more than a decade. “The uncertainty is really hard on both sides.”
“你能让他们去承担多大的风险呢?”李说,这里的“他们”指的是她的供应商,在一起工作了十多年后,双方的关系越来越密切。“这种不确定性对双方都很不利。”
Ultimately, the additional expense might have to be passed on to the consumer. Mr. Keefe, 71, said the price of a popular silk pajama set, which retails for $300, might increase $15.
最终,额外的费用可能要转嫁给消费者。71岁的基夫说,一套零售价为300美元的热卖丝绸睡衣可能会涨15美元。
However, the 20-year-old company has little choice but to stay in China. Silk manufacturing facilities exist in other countries, such as Sri Lanka, India, South Korea and Thailand, but “the best machinery, the best expertise, the ability to produce quality goods at a good price is located in China,” Mr. Keefe said.
然而,这家拥有20年历史的公司别无选择,只能留在中国。斯里兰卡、印度、韩国和泰国等国家也有丝绸生产设施,但基夫说,“最好的机器、最好的专业知识,以及生产物美价廉产品的能力都在中国。”
For companies open to moving manufacturing to the United States, the challenge is finding a factory.
对于愿意将制造业迁往美国的公司来说,挑战在于找到工厂。
Ms. Campbell, the seller of religious goods, said she was contemplating passing some of the additional costs from tariffs on to her customers. However, she is reluctant because her products are not essential and her customers are families like hers who are already dealing with higher costs for groceries and gas.
宗教用品销售商坎贝尔表示,她正在考虑将关税带来的一些额外成本转嫁给客户。然而,她不愿意这样做,因为她的产品不是必需品,她的客户是像她一样的家庭,他们已经在应对日用品和汽油价格的上升。
Humangear的产品。
The specter of even higher Chinese import tariffs has her feeling panicked.
中国进口关税还要进一步升高的阴影令她恐慌。
“I don’t think people understand what that looks like,” she said. “Not just for my business but in life — how are we going to afford this since everything comes from China?”
“我认为人们不明白那会是什么样子,”她说。“这不只是我的生意,这关系到我们的生活——既然一切都来自中国,那我们怎么负担得起呢?”