World Trade Slowed at End of 2018

Imports to and exports from China plummeted, signaling impact of U.S. tariffs

Slower growth in China is affecting everything from smartphone sales to oil exports, and companies and countries in its orbit are beginning to feel the crunch. Photo Composite: Crystal Tai

World trade fell at the end of last year as imports to and exports from China plummeted, a sign that higher tariffs and the threat of more to come are cooling global economic growth.

The figures showed that late last year, U.S. efforts to revamp its trade relationships were increasingly disrupting the global trading system and the cross-border production lines that businesses have built over recent decades.

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