Look to Vietnam to see the Great Rerouting to beat tariffs
One hope of the Trump administration is that over the long term, tariffs will encourage companies to reshore production back to the US. One reality of the near term is that tariffs are encouraging companies to reroute production and exports to try to game the reciprocal tariff system, which has been materially watered down for most countries besides China.
This tidbit from Ryan Petersen, CEO of shipping logistics firm Flexport, sheds light on the emergent corporate strategy:
Flexport ocean freight bookings from Vietnam passed bookings from China for the first time last week.
— Ryan Petersen (@typesfast) April 14, 2025
It likely isn’t a coincidence that China and Vietnam signed 45 deals on Monday during President Xi’s visit to China’s largest bilateral trading partner.
The likes of Nike and Lululemon have operations spread throughout Southeast Asia, for instance, and likely have some flexibility in tweaking operations or where their products are shipped from prior to arrival in the US.