A temporal reversal of the United States-China rate offers a short-term relief for the global event industry, which has suffered under commercial tensions that interrupted supply chains, reduced budgets and throw a shadow on international shows.
Greater Pacific, an provider of 31 -year -old promotional products from UU., Had stopped all projects after the tariff toks effect. With reversal, production in 180 projects will resume.
The impact has been significant. Ben Zhang, founder and CEO of Greater Pacific, had to fire three full -time employees and two independent contractors.
“As the founder of the company, eliminating works is anguish,” Zhang said.
Greater Pacific has also begun to diversify its supply chain beyond China. A recent order for 4000 Pickleball sets came with the stipulation that they will not occur in China. “We are using a factory in India, but the price will be 25% higher,” Zhang said.
While the reversal sacrifices short -term relief, Zhang said that the tariffs of section 301 remain in place. “This could be as high as 25% plus 30%,” he said. “That could cause inflation in the United States”
Caution prevails
Reversion indicates a positive change for global trade and exhibitions, but industry leaders remain cautious about the broader tariff implications that involve countries and economic volatility, said Jochen Witt, president and CEO or JWC commercial fairs consulting.
“I anticipate a greater staining of the US dollar, which, combined with tariffs, will probably lead to increasing inflation and a decrease in the expense of exhibitors and visitors,” Witt said.
Michael Krupp, executive director of the New International Expo Center (SNIEC) of Shanghai (SNIEC): the only Chinese-German place with the caution of Western management.
“That roller coaster drama left most people in doubt, and doubt is always negative for most companies, if not all, companies around the world, butde, predulate our exposure business, which in their nucleus is face to face and trust in need”, “” here in China, most exhibition companies are easily 10-20% behind the results 2024, and I suppose that the rest of the world does not seem much better. ”
Joint US-China trade fairs are successful. “At this time, on both sides, trust is not yet there to be bigger, so it is possible that we have to wait one or two years,” Kruppe said. “It is a shame since we had super American shows in Sniec as CES.”
China less vulnerable in the war rate
Speaking at the UFI Middle East and Africa conference at Cairo at the end of April, Witt said that China is less vulnerable to the commercial pressure of the United States. “China does not depend largely on exports to the US, only around 13-14% of its total export volume,” he said, “making it difficult for the USA to obtain leverage.”
Witt warned that continuous economic tensions could damage international participation in American events. “This could degrade the general quality and competitiveness of US shows. At the same time, a weakening of the dollar and inflation could reduce general expense,” he said.
While US events can fight, Witt said European exhibitions could be an increase in Chinese participation.
“We have seen what happens when the organizers depend too much on a single source of exhibitors,” he said, citing the cancellation of the Colonia Furniture Fair. “He lost his balance when the Chinese supply overvalued his traditional base.”
Adapt to new realities
Despite the interruption, Witt sees the opportunity. “Our industry is a mirror of global commercial flows. If you observe those changes closely, you can adjust your strategy and stay at the forefront,” he said.
Even so, he warned him against excess confidence. “We are living in a new era,” said Witt. “With the conflicts that continue in Ukraine, the Middle East and the South of Asia, and with an increasingly autocratic behavior worldwide, the era of long -term planning has ended.”
