China's factory activity slowed at the start of the second quarter, with a sharp fall in new export orders and the resumption of employment declines, a private-sector survey showed on Wednesday. The survey shows U.

Donald Trump says China will likely bear the brunt of his 145% tariff on the world’s second-largest economy. But prices from some of the most popular sellers of made-in-China goods already suggest US shoppers will be paying a major portion of the bill.

The data covers a period in which a trade war between the US and China escalated dramatically, with tariffs now well over 100 per cent in both directions. China’s official PMI manufacturing gauge had expanded in February and March.

The tariffs imposed by Trump were seen by some as an existential threat to the auto sector. Arthur Laffer, whom Trump gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to during his first term, said in a private analysis that the tariffs without any modifications could add $4,711 to the cost of a vehicle.