The South China Morning Post reported on the 29th, citing unnamed sources, that a stationery and office supplies exporter in Ningbo received a notice from Walmart on Monday (28th) requiring normal shipments, and that the cost of new tariffs will be borne by U.S. customers. In the past few weeks, China and the United States have imposed tariffs on each other, causing trade between the two countries to come to a standstill.

The vice president of the above-mentioned Ningbo company revealed, "Walmart, which we have long-term cooperation with, informed us that we can start shipping, and we do not have to bear the latest tariffs imposed by the United States on China."

At least one exporter in Jiangsu also said customers were telling them to prepare for a rebound in demand. "We have learned that large retailers have notified Chinese suppliers to resume orders," said Paul Tai, regional director of Mainetti, a designer and exporter of hangers and packaging materials whose products are sold to Europe and the United States. He revealed that US customers had issued similar notices as early as April 23. Wanmei itself is a partner of several retail giants in the United States.

Tai told the South China Morning Post that since US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on April 2, many US importers have suspended or even canceled orders from China. Compared with the same period last year, orders so far in April have plummeted by more than 40%. Therefore, Tai said that this wave of order withdrawal is "excellent news."

Tai revealed that due to the volatility of tariff policies, many suppliers have changed their quotations to "free on board (FOB)" (which means the seller delivers the goods to the ship ordered by the buyer, that is, fulfilling the terms of trade) instead of "delivered duty paid (DDP), which refers to a delivery agreement in which the seller must bear all transportation risks before the buyer receives the goods. He said this allows U.S. importers to handle customs duties themselves through local customs brokers and be more flexible in responding to changing regulations.

CNBC reported that Cameron Johnson, a senior partner at consulting firm Tidalwave Solutions in Shanghai, said that due to the impact of the Sino-US tariff war, as far as he knows, several Chinese factories have had half of their employees shut down for several weeks, and most production lines have also been temporarily suspended. He pointed out that toys, sporting goods and low-cost dollar store items are currently the most affected.