US tariffs slow Chinese production of goods for the 2026 World Cup | OneFootball

In a Chinese factory filled with scarves in the colors of Ireland and Tanzania, director Shang Yabing laments that the uncertainty regarding United States tariffs is holding back orders for World Cup-focused products.

With nine months to go before the tournament to be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, manufacturers of caps, bracelets, flags, and hats with national team emblems should be overwhelmed with orders.

Especially in Yiwu, in eastern China, one of the world's main wholesale production centers for small items, attracting buyers from all over the world.

But the multiple developments of the trade war between Beijing and Washington, especially the persistent uncertainty about the value of the tariffs that the United States president, Donald Trump, will impose on Chinese products, cause customer hesitation.

In the corridors of the Yiwu Wells Knitting Products factory, workers are putting the finishing touches on a variety of sports accessories.

“We have been in this sector for over 10 years and have manufactured World Cup-themed products for almost every tournament,” Shang explains to AFP. “This year we received small orders. But the more important ones, which are on hold, have not yet materialized, certainly due to the United States tariffs,” he adds.

A million products

In the factory, workers use sewing machines to attach fringes to the ends of scarves, while others iron them.

China and the United States have extended their trade truce until November, thus avoiding the reciprocal imposition of prohibitive three-digit tariffs on their products.

The company where Shang works is still waiting for its clients to confirm the large orders, which, in total, represent about a million products.

Other signs of the contemplative attitude can be found in the immense “International Trade City” of Yiwu, one of the largest wholesale markets in the world. In the neon-lit corridors, the stands offering soccer balls or flags have little movement compared to the usual presence of foreign buyers.

The derivative products are numerous, from sunglasses in the colors of different countries' flags to keychains with miniature cleats.

“At this time, before the last World Cup, we had a large flow of mass orders,” explains Daisy Dai, who sells printed balls, to AFP. But this year “customers are hesitating.”

Buyers from the United States previously represented a large part of her clientele, but “since the start of the trade war, some major brands have stopped placing orders due to the lack of clarity on tariffs,” she explains.

Next to her, Zhu Yanjuan, a seller of flags and small World Cup-related products, states that her volume of foreign orders has decreased.

“After all, these are not essential products,” she observes. Even so, she remains optimistic: “Things will improve gradually.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.