In Shuitou, China, on Thursday, April 10, the manufacturers dishes received this brief email from Maersk, the shipping giant: “Due to the impact of customs barriers between China and the United States, the client XX XX XX [the name of the importing chain has been anonymized] He has decided to suspend its load delivery until new notice, with immediate effect. No container should be sent to its port terminal. Those who are in the filling process should be emptied immediately. “
The 145% tariffs decreed that day by the White House gave a severe blow to this small factory city in East China, in the province of Zhejiang, almost completely focused on exporting articles for cats and dogs. According to a 2023 article in the Chinese magazine Sixth toneFour out of five American pet owners have a strap or a toy in Shuitou.
For 15 years, this city of 120,000 inhabitants has followed the rhythm of the trends of products for American and European dogs. This was a radical change after 30 years in the leather industry that reached a salbred end. In August 2003, Shuitou was among the 10 most contaminated sites in China. The culprit: its tan industry, whose wastewater full of chrome were carelessly unpleasant in the river. The nearby crops suffered, new diseases appeared and young men failed physical tests for military entry. Pressing for ACT, local authorities closed almost a thousand curretas administered by the family. Only eight of the greatest survived after the implementation of strict compliance measures.
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