Yiwu International Trade City Remains Vibrant Amidst the US-China Trade War: Merchants from the Middle East, South America, and India Fuel Competition in the Toy Wholesale Market

Taiwan • Business • 04/28 01:00
Yiwu International Trade City Remains Vibrant Amidst the US-China Trade War: Merchants from the Middle East, South America, and India Fuel Competition in the Toy Wholesale Market

Despite the escalation of the US-China trade war, Yiwu International Trade City in Zhejiang will face pressure from high US tariffs in April 2025, hindering exports to the US market. However, merchants from the Middle East, South America, India, and other regions continue to pour in, particularly in the toy wholesale market, where prices are 30% to 50% below typical market rates. Yiwu merchants have successfully mitigated risks through market diversification and supply chain integration, maintaining their status as the world's hub for small commodities.

Key Updates

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04/28 01:00

Yiwu International Trade City Remains Vibrant Amidst the US-China Trade War: Merchants from the Middle East, South America, and India Fuel Competition in the Toy Wholesale Market

Despite the escalation of the US-China trade war, Yiwu International Trade City in Zhejiang will face pressure from high US tariffs in April 2025, hindering exports to the US market. However, merchants from the Middle East, South America, India, and other regions continue to pour in, particularly in the toy wholesale market, where prices are 30% to 50% below typical market rates. Yiwu merchants have successfully mitigated risks through market diversification and supply chain integration, maintaining their status as the world's hub for small commodities.

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Yiwu Trade City Temporarily Halts Exports to the US, But Global Customer Base Remains Strong

In April 2025, the US-China trade war escalated rapidly, with the US imposing punitive tariffs of up to 245% on Chinese goods, directly impacting Yiwu International Trade City. Many businesses focused on the US market have temporarily halted shipments, with some goods stuck in warehouses. However, Yiwu Trade City has not come to a standstill. According to on-site observations, merchants from the Middle East, South America, India, and Southeast Asia continue to visit in large numbers, actively inquiring, comparing prices, and placing orders.

Taxi driver Li revealed that after the trade war, the number of flights to Yiwu increased, especially with 4 to 5 additional flights daily from Guangzhou to Yiwu, indicating that demand from foreign merchants remains strong. Yiwu businesses have generally adopted a "two-pronged strategy," expanding the domestic market on one hand and actively developing non-US markets on the other to reduce reliance on a single market.

Merchants from the Middle East, South America, and India Become Main Buyers

In Yiwu Trade City, merchants from the Middle East, South America, and India have become the main buyers. They shuttle between major shops, looking for new products and engaging in flexible negotiations. Yiwu's unique trading scenes are everywhere: sellers line up products, marking prices and models on the ground, while buyers negotiate using calculators, gestures, or translation devices until both parties reach an agreement.

Iranian merchants often haggle over toy prices ranging from a few dozen to hundreds of yuan, but behind these negotiations are orders of hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of items. A young Venezuelan merchant mentioned that Yiwu offers affordable prices and good quality, making it an ideal place for their first purchase.

Yiwu Trade City also offers professional interpreting services covering all major global languages, with daily wages around 500 to 600 yuan, assisting merchants in smoothly completing the purchasing process.

Fierce Competition in the Toy Wholesale Market with Significant Price Advantages

The first floor of District 1 in Yiwu Trade City is known as the "primary battlefield" for toy wholesale, covering all categories such as remote control cars, remote control planes, plush toys, and educational building blocks. Prices here are generally 30% to 50% lower than market prices, attracting toy merchants from around the world.

Basic remote control cars are priced as low as 15 yuan, and basic folding drones can be under 20 yuan. The recently popular "dinosaur sensor hover plane" is priced between 10 and 180 yuan, while high-end models like the JJR/C collision-resistant drone can reach 599 yuan, still much cheaper than DJI brands.

The Transformers series products in Yiwu have also rapidly upgraded, shifting from traditional plastic models to movable joint designs, paired with a rapid supply chain that takes only 3 to 7 days from design to mass production. Yiwu's new iterations of Transformers products surpass those of their European and American counterparts, and the ex-factory price is 15% to 20% lower than in Shenzhen, further solidifying its competitiveness in the global toy market.

Yiwu Businesses Flexibly Respond, Focusing on Quality and Market Diversification

Facing global market changes, Yiwu businesses are actively improving product quality and market adaptability. In 2025, over 60% of foreign trade orders adopted third-party quality certification, enabling consumers to report product quality issues in real-time through the "Yiwu Index" platform. The market supervision bureau and e-commerce platforms jointly downgrade the credit or delist the involved merchants.

Moreover, Yiwu businesses generally no longer rely solely on the US market but instead diversify risks through supply chain consolidation, market diversification, and brand transformation. According to Yiwu Index data, Yiwu's export value reached 588.96 billion yuan in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 17.7%, with the share of exports to the African market rising to 28%, indicating a gradual shift in market focus to emerging regions.

References

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