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China Vows Never to Kneel on Tariffs; Retailers Scramble to Hold Prices By Paul Berger

China is ratcheting up its rhetoric against the U.S., indicating it won't back down in a trade war and urging other countries to stand up to tariff threats.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry published a vivid video to social media sites such as X denouncing what it characterizes as U.S. bullying. The aggressive tone stands in contrast to hopes recently raised by U.S. officials that Beijing will soon come to the negotiating table because of China's heavy reliance on exports to the U.S.

The WSJ's Chun Han Wong reports that the video titled "Never Kneel Down!" takes aim at President Trump's move earlier this month to declare a 90-day pause on so-called reciprocal tariffs for all trading partners except China. The narrator describes the pause as a game designed to force countries to limit trade with China. It appeals to those countries to defy American pressure, saying, "When the rest of the world stands together in solidarity, the U.S. is just a small, stranded boat."

The video says "bowing to a bully is like drinking poison to quench thirst" and cites what it describes as past U.S. successes in extracting trade and industrial concessions from Japan and France.

China said it is willing to support normal business cooperation with American firms. (WSJ) General Motors is shelving earlier profit guidance for 2025 on auto tariff concerns . (WSJ) Volvo Car will cut jobs , as it warned of uncertainty and a hit to profitability from tariffs and price pressures. (WSJ) Porsche cut its sales and profitability guidance for the year, warning of hits from U.S. tariffs. (WSJ) German aircraft-engine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines warned tariffs could cut into this year's earnings. (WSJ) Quotable CONTENT FROM: PENSKE Gain Intel. Gain Ground with Penske.

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Supply Chain Strategies

Retailers are scrambling to hold down prices in the face of tariffs while flashing warning signs that higher prices and product scarcity are inevitable unless the levies are lowered.

The WSJ's Sarah Nassauer, Shane Shifflett and Sebastian Herrera report that retailers are pausing some shipments, pressuring suppliers to absorb costs and leaning on inventory that has already been imported to the U.S. Such strategies are allowing them to hold prices flat for now.

The retail pull forward unleashed a wave of imports at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to start the year. Now, companies such as Walmart, Target and Amazon are holding back and ocean carriers are blanking sailings because of the drop-off in demand from China.

That leaves retailers to figure out how long inventories can last, how long they can keep prices low and how long they can wait before having to replenish orders at higher prices.

Amazon played down a report that it was considering displaying the impact of tariffs during online checkout after President Trump called company founder Jeff Bezos. (WSJ) Adidas said it has examined raising U.S. prices to offset tariffs. (WSJ) China tariffs are threatening the supply chains of Christmas products such as toys, trees and decorations. (New York Times) Tariffs are expected to raise the cost of replacement tires for truckers . (Transport Topics) Number of the Day In Other News

U.S. consumers' view of the economy slid further in April. (WSJ)

The number of job openings in the U.S. fell in March to a six-month low . (MarketWatch)

The global economy is set for a period of slower growth as trade and financial linkages fray , warns a senior European Central Bank official. (WSJ)

Commodity prices are set to fall sharply this year and next as rising tariffs lead to a global economic slowdown. (WSJ)

Business sentiment in the euro area suffered this month as new tariffs darkened the economic outlook , according to a survey. (WSJ)

Ireland's economy surged to start the year as U.S. pharmaceutical giants based in the country built stockpiles ahead of threatened tariffs. (WSJ)

German consumer confidence ticked up in May. (WSJ)

Spain's economy continued to expand at a rapid pace at the start of the year. (WSJ)

United Parcel Service is cutting 20,000 operational positions this year, moving to slash expenses after breaking ways with Amazon. (WSJ)

Oil company BP is aiming to boost its production of oil and gas in the U.S. by more than 50% by the end of the decade. (WSJ)

Merck & Co. will grow its U.S. manufacturing footprint with a $1 billion plant in Delaware. (WSJ)

Ocean carriers are accelerating trans-Pacific blank sailings with China-U.S. bookings falling 54% last week versus a comparable week in March. (Journal of Commerce)

China's Cosco Shipping posted a strong first-quarter performance, with net profit surging over 70% year over year to about $1.6 billion . (Lloyd's List)

Chinese carmakers are being forced to readjust their Europe ambitions as tariff roadblocks have made their electric vehicles less affordable . (Financial Times)

France is proposing fees on small packages from discount retailers such as China's Temu and Shein. (Bloomberg)

Hyundai plans to launch a hydrogen production and dispensing facility for heavy-duty trucks in Georgia. (Commercial Carrier Journal)

Dollar Tree tapped Roxanne Weng to be its new chief supply chain officer. (Supply Chain Dive)

A $70 million U.S. Navy fighter jet fell overboard from an aircraft carrier into the Red Sea. (Marine Insight)

About Us

Mark R. Long is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Reach him at [mark.long@wsj.com]. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team on LinkedIn: Mark R. Long , Liz Young and Paul Berger .

This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 30, 2025 07:06 ET (11:06 GMT)

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