Core Insights - Chinese exporters appear to have strong bargaining power in trade with the U.S., bearing only 9% of the costs from tariffs imposed by President Trump earlier this year [1] - The findings contradict statements from U.S. officials who claimed that Washington emerged victorious in the global tariff storm in April [1] - The analysis indicates that U.S. importers are unable to fully pass on costs to end consumers or exporters, leading them to compress profit margins [1] Group 1 - The study aimed to verify the hypothesis that exporters can alleviate tariff burdens through price reductions, using regression analysis to compare shipping volumes, tariff rates, and changes in U.S. import prices [1] - From April to July, the average price of goods imported from China decreased by 2.4%, while actual tariffs increased by 27 percentage points [1] - This suggests that Chinese goods possess strong competitive advantages and bargaining power [1] Group 2 - ASEAN, Japan, and the EU bear a significantly larger share of tariff costs, with ASEAN and Japan expected to shoulder 20% and 37% respectively [2] - The 9% tariff rate for Chinese exporters is much lower than the 66% rate proposed by some U.S. retail giants to their Chinese suppliers, indicating that Chinese firms have managed to limit their tariff burden [2] - Looking ahead, the tariff costs are expected to gradually impact U.S. consumer inflation, with a potential CPI increase of about 1 percentage point if actual rates remain between 16% and 17% [2]