US tariff threat puts China’s globalizing consumer brands in the crosshairs

What happened China said it would monitor US actions related to tariffs for alleged overcapacity and may take countermeasures, underscoring lingering friction despite a trade truce. Commerce Ministry spokesperson Huang Ling reiterated Beijing’s opposition to the investigation into China and other economies, saying Washington has launched the probe under the “pretext of overcapacity.” “We will continue to closely monitor and comprehensively assess subsequent US actions and reserve the right to take all necessary measures,” Huang said at a regular press briefing on Thursday in response to a question about a possible US levy. US import tariff of 7.5% reportedly under consideration Bloomberg News reported earlier that the US is considering a 7.5% tariff on China following investigations into alleged excess capacity. The move would mark the latest step by US President Donald Trump to resurrect his protectionist trade agenda after the Supreme Court struck down his previous import taxes. It would also bring tariffs on China to a level Beijing said the two sides agreed to during previous trade talks. Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the US to put relations back on the “right track” during a meeting with Ambassador David Perdue on Wednesday, accusing Washington of introducing a series of “negative measures on unfounded grounds,” according to a Chinese statement. The Jing Take Focus on the ceiling rather than the increment. Investing.com puts the current replacement rate at 12.5%, against a 20% cap Beijing says Washington committed to in July. A 7.5-point levy fills that gap exactly, which makes this a confirmation of the truce’s outer edge rather than a rupture of it. For anyone building a 2027 US assortment, a fixed number is worth more than a lower one that moves. Brands face US expansion risk Chinese consumer brands are the cohort with the most at stake. They went to America specifically to escape soft demand at home: Pop Mart is opening more than 20 US stores this year through a Simon Property Group deal, Anta is setting up in Beverly Hills, and Urban Revivo opened its New York flagship in March 2025. A Section 301 excess-capacity finding attaches a policy label to all of them, one no marketing budget can unpick, at precisely the moment the margin case for the US was being made. European houses are hit sideways rather than head-on. A China-specific duty leaves Italian leather goods alone. The wider Section 301 replacement regime does not: the forced-labour probe closed in June with duties of 10-12.5% across 60 economies. Trump and Xi Jinping talks, not the levy, set the timeline Watch the calendar over the rate. Research firms surveyed by Bloomberg tie a double-digit July sales drop across the top 25 luxury brands in China to Beijing’s offshore-wealth tax crackdown, so external friction and domestic fiscal pressure are now compounding. Sentiment does not separate the two. The tariff is timed to land before Trump and Xi Jinping meet in Washington on September 24, and that meeting, not the levy, is the marker brands should be planning against. The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.

US tariff threat puts China’s globalizing consumer brands in the crosshairs

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag

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US tariff threat puts China’s globalizing consumer brands in the crosshairs

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag