PIIE this week released a new policy brief arguing that US tariffs have failed to meaningfully reduce America’s dependence on Chinese goods because suppliers rerouted products through third countries, leaving Chinese value added in US imports largely intact.
The policy brief states that genuine US economic security requires a more disciplined strategy that identifies actual chokepoints, builds competitive alternative suppliers, and cooperates with allies rather than fracturing supply chains.
Quote from the policy brief:
US tariffs drove suppliers to reroute supply chains through third countries to avoid shipping directly from China to the US. The top gainers in the share of aggregate US goods imports between 2017 and 2025 were Taiwan (4.1 percentage points), Vietnam (3.7 points), and Mexico (2.3 points).
Read the full policy brief: Made in China: global supply chains and the limits of US decoupling