Six months into President Donald Trump’s renewed trade wars, partial results indicate the policy may be accelerating a global shift toward a trading system where the United States is one market among many, according to analysis from Yahoo Finance. The assessment comes as President Trump once again threatens China with higher tariffs.

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China’s exports surged 8.3% in September, their fastest pace in months, even as shipments to the U.S. fell 27%. This suggests Beijing is rerouting its economy around tariffs, with Europe, Southeast Asia, and countries across the global south largely picking up the slack. Exports to the E.U. rose more than 14%, to ASEAN nations nearly 16%, and to Africa by 56%, though Africa still represents a small fraction of China’s total exports.

Direct shipments to the U.S. now make up barely 10% of China’s total exports, a significant decrease from the at least 25% share they claimed two or three years ago. Washington’s power in a trade war traditionally comes from its ability to hurt China’s export machine by cutting off access to U.S. consumers, but this power diminishes if the U.S. is no longer an indispensable buyer.

The data shows China can offset a 27% drop in U.S. sales with double-digit growth elsewhere, indicating the U.S. market is no longer as critical to Chinese growth. This diversification weakens the impact of tariffs, sanctions, or boycotts because China now has alternative buyers and more routes to market.

This loss of status as the key buyer points to a potential structural realignment of global supply chains that leaves the U.S. increasingly isolated. Goods once destined for Los Angeles are now moving through Vietnam, Malaysia, and Mexico before reaching their end buyers, eroding Washington’s reach and making tariffs harder to enforce.

Supply chains continue to be rebuilt inside and outside China through investments in factories, logistics, and relationships that are difficult to unwind. Beijing has been reinforcing this shift through infrastructure spending and trade agreements that further bind the new network together.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform