Canton Fair Opens Toy Phase in Guangzhou as U.S. Tariff Cuts Wait

Photo: Tim Wu, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (file photo, 2023). Zone B of the Canton Fair Complex in Guangzhou.

The Canton Fair’s final phase, devoted to toys, baby products, fashion and home textiles, opened in Guangzhou on Saturday, Oct. 31, as Chinese exporters wait for Washington to act on promised U.S. tariff cuts covering many of the same goods. The third phase of the 140th China Import and Export Fair runs through Wednesday, Nov. 4, under the theme “Better Life,” organizers said, according to China Daily. !Unverified claim, China Daily (Chinese state media)

For American shoppers, the timing matters because toys are the largest single category on the list of about $30 billion of Chinese goods the United States has said could get lower tariffs. Those cuts have not taken effect, and no start date had been announced as of Sunday, Nov. 1.

What is on show in Guangzhou

The third phase covers 515,000 square meters with 25,000 booths in 21 exhibition zones, China Daily reported. The zones cover toys, maternity, baby and children’s products, fashion, home textiles, health and leisure goods, and stationery. More than 12,000 companies are exhibiting, of which more than 3,100 are classed by organizers as high-quality suppliers. State-run China News Service reported the same figures. !Unverified claim, China News Service (Chinese state media)

Guangzhou’s own delegation brought 316 companies and 992 booths, according to an article from the party-run Guangzhou Daily posted on the city government’s website. The same article said a “smart healthcare” zone has 46 companies and 168 booths, and that 60.54% of overseas business visitors entering through Guangzhou-area ports came from member economies of APEC, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, whose leaders meet in Shenzhen later this month. Those figures have not been independently confirmed.

By the numbers: buyers and the tariff list

By the close of the second phase on Tuesday, Oct. 27, the fair had drawn more than 278,000 overseas buyers from 218 countries and regions, up 13.4% from the same point of the previous session and a record, organizers told China Daily. They said buyers from Brazil and the United States “registered notable growth” but gave no figure for either country.

By TBR’s calculation from The Toy Association’s figures, toys make up roughly a third (about 33%) of the U.S. list by 2025 import value. The buyer totals are not a like-for-like comparison: the spring figure covers a whole session, while the autumn figure stops after two of three phases, so the 140th fair needs about 36,000 more foreign buyers in its final phase to pass the spring total.

Tariff cuts still waiting on Washington

In late September, after Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington, the two governments published lists of roughly $30 billion of each other’s goods that could qualify for lower tariffs under the new U.S.-China Board of Trade. The U.S. list of 77 items is mostly toys, sports equipment and Christmas decorations, CNBC reported, and also includes bed linen, blankets, curtains and tableware. CNBC said it was not clear when lower tariffs would take effect or by how much.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told the industry on Sept. 30 that the United States must complete a public-comment process required under Section 301 of the Trade Act before any reductions can happen, The Toy Association said. The group said details on the timing of that comment period had not been released. A TBR search on Sunday found no USTR notice opening the comment period or setting an effective date. Greer’s Sept. 27 statement described the lists as recommendations for goods that “could benefit from more favorable tariff treatment in the future.”

Exporters expect more American orders

Exhibitors at the fair’s first phase in mid-October told the South China Morning Post they expected a new wave of orders from U.S. buyers and planned to restart idle factory capacity, while saying the outlook in Europe was clouded by regulatory and financial hurdles.

Harley Seyedin, chairman and president of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China, welcomed the tariff consensus in remarks carried by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. “Certainty is the lifeblood of business,” he said. !Unverified claim, CCTV (Chinese state media)

The Guangzhou fair is one of two big Chinese trade shows this fall; see TBR’s report on Shanghai’s traffic controls for the China International Import Expo and on USTR’s proposed port-fee relief for China-linked ships.

Sources

• China Daily (Chinese state media): Canton Fair Phase 3 opens
• The Toy Association: USTR outlines next steps for toy tariff reductions
• CNBC: U.S. and China plan tariff cuts on $30 billion of goods
• USTR: Ambassador Greer statement on Board of Trade recommendations
• South China Morning Post: as tariff threats ease, U.S. in fashion again among Chinese exporters

Additional sources

• China News Service (Chinese state media): Phase 3 opens with 12,000-plus exhibitors (Chinese)
• Guangzhou municipal government: Guangzhou delegation at Phase 3 (Chinese)
• CCTV (Chinese state media): reactions to the tariff consensus